This week, our team gathered at the beautiful Book Tower Conservatory in Detroit to celebrate the 2025 Crain Editorial Awards—an evening dedicated to honoring the exceptional journalism, innovation, and collaboration that define Crain’s editorial excellence.
Now in its third year (and second in Detroit), the event brought together more than 80 brand leaders, editors, and finalists from across the company for a night of recognition and reflection. From thoughtful reporting to bold design and data-driven storytelling, the work on display showcased the depth and impact of our journalism in 2024.
Throughout the evening, we recognized outstanding work across four categories: Innovation, Best Use of Data, the Stan Cohen Award for Overall Excellence, and Outstanding Individual Contributor. These awards celebrate the individuals and teams helping Crain grow, evolve, and lead. See all winners below.
A heartfelt thank you to our editorial teams who continue to push boundaries and elevate the work of journalism across Crain. As KC Crain closed the night, he reminded us that his grandfather, G.D. Crain, would indeed be proud.
Congratulations again to all of our finalists and winners!
Innovation Award
First Place | Ad Age | All Access Strategy
Second Place | Crain’s Detroit | NFL draft game plan
Third Place | Automotive News | Daily 5 Newsletter
Best Use of Data Award
First Place | Pensions & Investments | Largest U.S. Retirement Plans
Second Place | Crain’s Chicago | Downtown Chicago landlords’ post-2020 pain, mapped
Third Place | Plastics News | The Book
Stan Cohen Overall Excellence Award
First Place | Crain’s New York | Shadow Government
Second Place | Modern Healthcare | Chronic Conditions
Third Place | Staffing Industry Analysts | DE&I package pushes through political headwinds
Outstanding Individual Contributor Winner: Gennady Kolker, Pensions & Investments
Since joining the team in 2022, Gennady has made an outsized impact by driving innovation, boosting audience engagement, and fostering collaboration across teams.
In 2024 alone, he led the successful transition to a new content platform, revamped the email newsletter strategy—including a relaunch of P&I Daily—resulting in over 100% growth in email traffic, and helped optimize publishing schedules for key enterprise stories. Gennady also championed the narrative-driven This Week in Washington newsletter and helped design its format in collaboration with the marketing automation and engineering teams.
A true data advocate, Gennady shares daily insights with the editorial team, helping sharpen coverage in areas like CIO interviews and ESG. He’s also contributed to AI innovation at Crain as an AI ambassador, testing tools to enhance editorial workflows.
Passionate, proactive, and collaborative, Gennady is not just audience-obsessed—he’s a catalyst for meaningful, measurable progress at P&I.
Outstanding Individual Contributor Finalists
Ad Age | Mark Fischer
Automotive News | Molly Boigon
Crain City Brands | John Schroyer
Crain Design Hub | Stephanie Swearngin
Crain’s Chicago Business | John Pletz
Crain’s Cleveland Business | Joe Scalzo
Crain’s Detroit Business | Matt Pollock
Crain’s Grand Rapids Business | Mark Sanchez
Crain’s New York Business | Nick Garber
Precision Medicine (GenomeWeb) | Jessica Kim Cohen
Rubber News (Global Polymer Group) | Michael McCrady
Modern Healthcare | Pat Fanelli
Staffing Industry Analysts | Sharon Thomas
