Leeds Digital Festival Awards: 2026 Winners Revealed

The awards, organised by Ward Hadaway and tech consultancy byProduct, form part of Leeds Digital Festival and recognise achievement across areas including growth, innovation, leadership, workplace culture, equality and the use of technology for social good.

The 2026 winners were chosen by a judging panel of figures from across Leeds’ technology and business community, including founders, operators and public sector representatives. They were announced at an awards ceremony at The Wardrobe in Leeds on Thursday 1 October.

Cognisys Group was named Best Tech Place to Work, while Andrew Mason received Entrepreneur of the Year and Andy Crossley was named Leader of the Year.

The other winners were:

• Optum EMIS: Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Award
• Leeds Digital Drinks: Facilitator of the Year
• Enablis: Growth Company of the Year
• Qursam Hina: Rising Star 2026
• Avenue3: Start-up of the Year
• Senflow: Tech4Good Award (Small Company)
• DTP Group: Tech4Good Award (Large Company)
• The Curve Consulting: Tech Innovation of the Year
• Skipton Building Society & CGI: Tech Team of the Year

Andrew Maeer, Founder of byProduct, said: “The strength of Yorkshire’s technology sector comes from the range of people and businesses within it, from emerging companies and rising talent to established teams continuing to innovate.

“The awards give us the chance to bring that community together and highlight some of the work happening across the region. It is important that the people helping to move the sector forward have the opportunity to be recognised.”

The 2026 shortlist featured finalists from businesses and organisations across Leeds’ tech community, with awards spanning established companies, start-ups, teams and individuals.

Bill Goodwin, Partner and Head of IT/IP at Ward Hadaway, said: “Yorkshire has built a strong and diverse technology sector and supporting the businesses and people behind its continued development is important to us at Ward Hadaway.

“The Leeds Digital Festival Awards give us an opportunity to recognise the talent, ideas and businesses contributing to that sector. This year’s winners represent organisations at different stages of growth, alongside individuals making their mark within the industry, and I’d like to congratulate everyone recognised.”

The awards ceremony was hosted by Ward Hadaway’s Bill Goodwin, byProduct’s founder Andrew Maeer and Deb Hetherington, Director of Leeds Digital.

Deb Hetherington, Director of Leeds Digital, said: “The awards are a real highlight of Leeds Digital Festival, giving us the opportunity to shine a light on the incredible individuals, teams and organisations driving innovation and growth across our vibrant digital community.

“Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and finalists. The range of work represented across the categories shows the breadth of talent and activity within the sector across Leeds and the wider region.”