The Zappy Awards honor builders who don't just dream about the future but create it. These trailblazers don't wait for permission or instructions; they fearlessly forge systems that redefine what's possible with AI and automation.
The results? Nothing short of extraordinary. Explore this year's category winners and get inspired by what you can accomplish when creativity, courage, and automation collide.
AI Solution Innovator of the Year
Charlie Hoehn, Co-founder and Head of Product at Author.Inc
The 2025 AI Solution Innovator of the Year is Charlie Hoehn, Co-Founder and Head of Product at Author.Inc!
Charlie wired Zapier and AI across book production operations at Author.inc. His systems move transcripts, trigger editorial workflows, update dashboards, and remove bottlenecks. By streamlining operations, Charlie has achieved margins near 70%—in an industry where 40% is considered excellent.
Automation Hero of the Year
John Rippy, Chief Technology Officer at Drive Social Media
The 2025 Automation Hero of the Year is John Rippy, Chief Technology Officer at Drive Social Media!
John built Project Phoenix, a 95-step AI pipeline that scripts, outlines, spins up ideation assets, and preps sales pitches—all while tracking impact end-to-end. Project Phoenix enables the Drive Social Media team to cut development time by up to 50% and scale content with consistency.
Customer Support Automator of the Year
Nick Paliughi, Director of Support at Freshy
Our Customer Support Automator of the Year is Nick Paliughi, Director of Support at Freshy!
To streamline support tickets, Nick built an AI-powered triage that classifies and routes WordPress tickets, drafts responses, and escalates with context. Content gets auto-drafted and reviewed for quality assurance while a knowledge layer tracks time and cost per interaction, lifting throughput without extra headcount.
HR Automator of the Year
Kathy Lam, Talent Operations Specialist at StackAdapt
Our HR Automator of the Year is Kathy Lam, Talent Operations Specialist at StackAdapt!
When faced with an endless stream of applicants, Kathy turned to Zapier to build sophisticated HR solutions that kept candidate reviews aligned. A GPT-powered hiring logic app scans interview artifacts for structure, clarity, and fit—then sends Slack alerts and next-step prompts. This workflow standardizes scoring and reduces variance while keeping recruiters in their flow.
IT Automator of the Year
Dan Dorato-Hankins, Chief Technology Officer at Vector Media
The 2025 IT Automator of the Year is Dan Dorato-Hankins, Chief Technology Officer at Vector Media!
Dan has built countless game-changing solutions that bring Zapier and AI to Vector Media. His implementation of an end-to-end onboarding and offboarding system eliminates over an hour of manual work per new hire—giving the IT team time back to focus on bigger challenges.
Marketing Automator of the Year
Andrew Harding, Vice President, Marketing and Partnerships at Slate
Our Marketing Automator of the Year is Andrew Harding, Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships at Slate!
As Slate continued to move upmarket, qualifying prospects at scale became a challenge. As a solution, Andrew built a Zapier Agent lead generator that returned over 2,000 qualified enterprise prospects. It identifies, validates, and logs contacts automatically—fueling high-efficiency outbound with a response rate close to 50%.
Nonprofit Automator of the Year
Deborah Mader, Systems and Operations Manager at Lahaina Community Land Trust
The 2025 Nonprofit Automator of the Year is Deborah Mader, Systems and Operations Manager at Lahaina Community Land Trust!
To support those impacted by the Lahaina wildfire in 2023, Deborah built a system linking households, properties, and services so families could get help fast. This system efficiently transforms detailed household data collected via Google Forms into structured Salesforce records, helping the organization overcome data management challenges while ensuring relational integrity and reducing manual data entry.
Operations Automator of the Year
Jocelyne Mendez-Guzman, Customer Experience Operations Specialist at BioRender
Our Operations Automator of the Year is Jocelyne Mendez-Guzman, Customer Experience Operations Specialist at BioRender!
Jocelyne developed a 51-step automation to streamline the Accounts Receivable (AR) ticket management process within Zendesk. This solution reduced ticket resolution time by 69%, improved first reply time by 39%, and enabled the team to process 50% more tickets—resulting in faster cash flow and a more efficient AR team.
Sales Automator of the Year
Isaac Smith, AI Operations Manager at Klue
The 2025 Sales Automator of the Year is Isaac Smith, AI Operations Manager at Klue.
At the helm of Klue’s AI transformation efforts, Isaac developed a centralized framework using Zapier—which streamlined AI solutions across the go-to-market team, reducing workflow duplication and fostering collaboration. In just eight months, the system has been used over 8,000 times and saved the team more than 900 hours, demonstrating a quantifiable impact on efficiency and a cultural shift towards automation and innovation.
Z-Suite AI Transformation Leader of the Year
Adnan Khan, Co-Founder & Co-Chief Executive Officer at Viva
Our Z-Suite AI Transformation Leader of the Year is Adnan Khan, Co-Founder & Co-CEO at Viva - Executive Assistants.
By building a culture at Viva that embraces AI, Adnan has increased usage by implementing a tactical approach through an AI task board. This initiative came to life through daily sessions encouraging team collaboration and the creation of Zaps—showcasing Adnan's commitment to enhancing productivity and efficiency.
Thank you to the winners and to everyone who applied this year. Keep creating automation magic! We can't wait to see you next year.
