TTP launches Corporate Excellence Awards 2026: Putting corporates centre stage
Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) has officially opened nominations for the TTP Corporate Excellence Awards 2026, a new recognition programme that places the corporate end-user at the centre of trade finance. On 7 October 2026 at The Lansdowne Club in London, the ceremony will gather more than 100 industry leaders to celebrate works from corporates that have built outstanding impact in 2025 and 2026.
TTP’s Managing Director, Deepesh Patel, and Treasury Editor, Eleanor Hill, announced the awards to mark a deliberate shift in how the industry celebrates achievement. Where most programmes recognise banks and service providers, these awards are built around the corporates, teams, and individuals that keep global trade, treasury, and payments moving. The application will be closed in August 2026.
Turning awards upside down
In the trade finance industry, corporates are, in fact, the executors moving products from one country to another, often going unrecognised. This was the founding premise of the TTP Corporate Excellence Awards.
“We decided to turn the awards upside down,” Patel said. “When you think about liquidity and risk management, global trade, treasury, and payments, we often forget about the end user. These awards are not designed for the providers of those services – but actually the recipients.”
It is a distinction that matters as the corporates driving the industry have historically operated behind the scenes. They execute complex cross-border transactions, build treasury infrastructure, and embed ESG into supply chains — without the visibility that the financial institutions and technology providers around them often receive. The TTP Corporate Excellence Awards were founded to change that.
“There are so many corporates doing amazing things, but a lot of the time it’s just behind the scenes. They don’t get any fanfare,” Hill said.
The awards are open to corporates of all sizes and sectors across the industry. Banks and partners are strongly encouraged to nominate their corporate clients, and corporates are welcome to nominate themselves or their team.
An independent judging process
A group of around 22 senior industry leaders, selected from the ranks of TTP’s Global Advisory Panel, will serve as judges. These judges will assess all nominations independently, with conflicts of interest declared upfront and recusal applied where relevant. Entries will be scored blindly, and winners will be confirmed only when the data is statistically significant.
“We’re proud of our rigour and independence,” said Patel. “When we’re statistically certain that they are the clear winners, that’s how the winners will be announced.”
Current confirmed judges include senior figures from Citi, HSBC, Komgo, Investec, ADM, Allianz Trade, the EBRD, Enigio, ICC México, DZ BANK AG, Digital Trade Works, and a range of specialist advisory and legal firms.
The judges are Parvaiz Dalal, Harsha Mehta, Piotr Cichocki, Pinaki Roy, Kenn Torben Jensen, Francesco Burelli, John MacNamara, Derryn Faure, Lucas Sant’Anna, Sarah Green, Tony Brown, Jonathan Lonsdale, Rakesh Ranchhoddas, Sarah Murrow, Wayne Mills, Patrik Zekkar, Shona Tatchell, Gerardo Gutiérrez-Olvera Cabrales, Jochen Anton-Boicuk, Izabela Czepirska, George Riddell, and Merisa Lee Gimpel.
26 categories designed for corporates
The 2026 programme features 26 merit-based categories designed to reflect the full areas of corporate activity in trade, treasury, and payments.
Core Corporate Awards recognise outstanding leadership and transformation at the organisational level, including Corporate of the Year, Treasury Team of the Year, Trade Finance Team of the Year, Transformation Initiative of the Year, and Rising Star of the Year.
Corporate Trade Awards celebrate excellence in supply chain finance, ESG, digital trade, and risk management. Corporate Treasury Awards covers cash and liquidity management, treasury technology, and financial risk. Payments Awards honour the best in cross-border payments, fraud prevention, and payments strategy. Cross-Cutting Awards recognise outstanding use of technology, AI, and diversity initiatives. Special recognition categories include Editor’s Choice Awards across banking, technology, law, as well as individual titles for Corporate Treasurer, Trade Finance Leader, and Payments Leader of the Year.
“There are lots of different opportunities for corporates to nominate themselves,” Hill said. “Quite often, people are put off because they think a category doesn’t fit or they haven’t done something impressive enough. But we’ve got a huge range, you have to be in it to win it.”
How to submit a strong nomination
We highly encourage you to lead with what is different, make the distinction clear, and do not over-rely on generative AI. Remember, the goal here is to get to know a corporation: what did the corporate achieve, and what did those achievements actually change?
Reusing content from previous award submissions or annual reports is acceptable and encouraged. The reporting period covers work completed between 1 January 2025 and 31 July 2026.
The Ceremony: 7 October, London
Winners will be notified under embargo ahead of the public announcement at the awards ceremony on 7 October 2026 at The Lansdowne Club in London.
Attendees can expect drinks, a sit-down dinner, live entertainment, certificates, photo opportunities, and editorial interviews. “[During our last awards ceremony] I almost felt bad interrupting the conversations to present the awards because people were having such a good time,” said Hill.
“It really is a long-standing, well-recognised set of awards that will stand you apart from the pack,” said Patel.
