Ignazio Arces, Silver Stevie® Award Winner for Culture Transformation Leader of the Year 2025
MANHATTAN, N.Y. – The Stevie Awards for Great Employers, among the world’s premier business awards, lit up Broadway, New York City, gathering global leaders and innovators to celebrate excellence in workplace culture, human resources, and leadership. The evening culminated with the gala dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, where award winners were formally presented with their trophies.
During this prestigious celebration, Ignazio Arces, author and energy professional, was officially honored with the Silver Stevie® Award for Culture Transformation Leader of the Year 2025, receiving the iconic Stevie statuette.
The award carried a special meaning in 2025, the year when Agrigento — Arces’ hometown — was named Italian Capital of Culture, further underscoring the link between cultural identity and transformation.
Arces stated:“This recognition is to me and to my colleagues, mentors, and all the people who shared this journey. Cultural transformation is the real engine of the energy shift, technology can open the door, but only people can walk through it.”
The Stevie® Award trophy is considered one of the world’s most coveted prizes in business. Since 2002, the Gold Stevies have honored excellence across more than 70 nations; in 2012 Silver and Bronze categories were introduced, and in 2013 the Grand Stevie debuted. The trophy itself features a crystal pyramid held aloft, symbolizing the hierarchy of human needs developed in the 1960s by psychologist Abraham Maslow. The pyramid represents the progression from basic needs to the pursuit of recognition and accomplishment.
The gala evening took place at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Westside Ballroom, at 1535 Broadway, New York, with a formal banquet, and the award announcements in the Broadway Ballroom. Winners were presented with their trophies and medals during the ceremony, with hundreds of guests from over 30 nations in attendance.
Alongside his executive role, Arces is also the author of Navigating the Energy Transition (available here), a book that reflects on the cultural dimension of change in the energy sector. The volume highlights how true transformation requires not only technology but also people empowered to lead it. In just a few months, the book has received appreciation from leaders and institutions engaged in navigating the complexity of the global energy transition.
The Stevie Awards for Great Employers honor the world’s best employers and the professionals driving change within organizations. The 2025 edition received hundreds of nominations from more than 30 countries, confirming the award’s global reputation.
About Ignazio Arces
Ignazio Arces is Chief of Operations at Versalis and a recognized thought leader in the energy sector. He has built his career on resilience, transformation, and a deep belief in the power of people to shape the future. He is the author of Navigating the Energy Transition (available here), a contribution to the international debate on how culture and identity are key drivers of sustainable energy transformation.
