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All your questions answered

About Crain’s Notable Leaders:

Crain's Notable Leaders recognizes and celebrates outstanding leaders across industries.

From large corporations to grassroots nonprofits, these individuals are driving innovation and impact in fields such as construction, law, real estate, and finance, while promoting environmental sustainability, diversity, equity, and community engagement. Selected through a peer nomination and editorial review process, our profiles showcase their commitment to advancing their industries and communities.

Who’s eligible?

Nominees must meet the criteria listed alongside the Notable nomination form and the location criteria listed below:

Northeast Ohio (Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties and includes the cities of Akron, Ashland, Ashtabula, Brunswick, Canton, Cleveland, Elyria, Lorain, Mansfield, Medina, Wadsworth, Wooster, Warren, and Youngstown).

Full time/hybrid nominees: Nominee works full-time or hybrid from an office in Northeast Ohio to qualify.
Fully remote nominees:
- If the nominee works for a company/team that is not based in Northeast Ohio, the nominee must live in the area listed above to qualify.
- If the nominee is fully remote and works with a team in Northeast Ohio, but does not live in the area listed above, they do not qualify.

I was recognized as a Notable, can I be on the list again?

Notable honorees may be recognized one time per year. If you were recognized in 2024, you are eligible for 2025 Notable nominations.

How do I submit a nomination?

We only accept nominations via the online form. We do not accept nominations via phone, email, mail or fax. We need the detailed information called for in the online nomination and candidate forms.

To get started: Click the nomination link and sign into your account. If you do not have an account, you will be asked to create one before you can proceed with the nomination form. We recommend using Chrome or Firefox web browsers to complete your application.
To finish an incomplete nomination: Sign into your account and choose either the "incomplete" or "in progress" option as shown on the next page. Then, select "edit" on the following page to complete the previously started submission.

What is on the nomination form?

You will be asked to complete a nomination form that includes:

Nominator/ nominee contact information
Short descriptions about the nominee’s success and impact in their career, community, and industry. This includes their education, current scope of work, significant projects and community/industry contributions.
A headshot and current resume/bio are required for nomination

Please note: All required sections of the form must be completed for consideration. The required sections on the form are marked with a red asterisk and incomplete answers may result in disqualification. An incomplete answer may include, but is not limited to, “please contact the nominee for more information.”

Do you have any tips on completing the nomination form?

Focus on the nominee's accomplishments, not their organization's accomplishments.
Include specific details (facts, figures, numbers, percentages, company names if possible) when describing the nominee's accomplishments.
Emphasize the nominee's experience over the last 12-18 months. (Current scope of work, board memberships & philanthropic involvement)
The nomination must speak for itself; the editorial team will not contact nominees for further information.

How much does it cost to submit?

There is a $25 fee to nominate a 2024 Notable candidate. Nomination fees may be paid via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). Nomination fees are non-refundable.

Does it matter who submits the nomination?

You can nominate yourself, a client, a family member, your boss, an employee or an acquaintance. The most important thing is that you state a clear, business-oriented reason for the nomination. It is helpful for a nominator to be in a position to be objective, but no one is disqualified based on who did the nominating.

When will honorees be notified?

Notable honorees will be notified approximately 3 weeks before publication day. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide status updates until congratulatory letters are sent.

Can I see my profile before it is published?

Honoree profiles in the published section will be created using the information supplied in the nomination form. We will not accept revised nomination forms, so take care that what you provide is accurate. Honoree profiles will not be provided for review before the section publishes. Crain's editorial staff holds full rights to edit information provided to meet style and editorial standards as well as space limitations. Do not submit information that is subject to change by the publishing date. Do not submit information you consider to be confidential.

Check out our latest Notable feature & reach out to Crain's Recognitions Team with additional questions.

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