IAOTP names Angela Cusack Female Trailblazer of the Year 2026

The International Association of Top Professionals will honor Angela Cusack, founder and CEO of Igniting Success, at its 2026 Annual Awards Gala at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. The award recognizes her leadership advisory work, coaching credentials and focus on how teams turn shared intent into organizational results.

Why it matters: - IAOTP’s Female Trailblazer of the Year award spotlights leaders who have broken barriers and set new standards in their fields. - The honor gives national visibility to Cusack’s work on executive alignment, coaching and leadership development. - Cusack’s advisory approach focuses on the conditions that shape whether organizations can act on shared goals.

What happened: - The International Association of Top Professionals selected Angela Cusack, founder and CEO of Igniting Success, for its 2026 Female Trailblazer of the Year Award. - IAOTP will honor Cusack at its 2026 Annual Awards Gala at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. - The gala information is available here.

The details: - IAOTP’s Trailblazer Award recognizes people who have pioneered innovative methods and raised standards of excellence in their industries. - Cusack works with CEOs, executive directors and boards on a core leadership issue: why capable people with shared intentions can still struggle to move an organization forward together. - Her work examines what people can say openly, how decisions are made, how commitments are understood and what happens after the meeting ends. - Through Igniting Success, a global advisory firm, Cusack helps leaders identify patterns that affect organizational results and improve how they work together. - Cusack also coaches innovative entrepreneurs and changemakers through global fellowships. - Cusack mentors and supervises coaches internationally, with a focus on professional development and coaching rigor. - Her credentials include Master Certified Coach, Advanced Certified Team Coach and the International Coaching Federation’s Mentor Coaching Specialization for mentoring MCC- and PCC-level coaches. - Cusack also holds EMCC accreditations in coaching, mentoring and coach supervision. - She earned a master’s degree in Education and Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University. - Cusack is also an author, keynote speaker and facilitator. - Her book, Discover the Matrix: Integrity, The True Mark of Leadership, looks at hidden structures that shape how organizations function and how leaders can change them.

Between the lines: - IAOTP is signaling that leadership awards now extend beyond individual achievement and into systems thinking, team dynamics and organizational culture. - Cusack’s focus on conditions, not just personalities, reflects a broader coaching trend toward diagnosing how work actually gets done. - The recognition also builds on prior honors, including The Women Leaders Magazine’s Top 20 Most Inspiring Women list in 2023, IAOTP’s Top Master Certified Coach of the Year in 2024 and IAOTP’s Empowered Woman of the Year Award earlier in 2026. - IAOTP President Stephanie Cirami said Cusack’s accomplishments show she will empower women worldwide.

What's next: - Cusack will be recognized at IAOTP’s Annual Awards Gala in New York City. - IAOTP says the award further acknowledges her contributions to leadership and coaching. - More information about Angela Cusack and Igniting Success is available at www.ignitingsuccess.com. - More information about IAOTP is available at www.iaotp.com.