BOSTON — The 2026 New England Choice Awards gala will bring together business and community leaders, entrepreneurs, physicians, academics, philanthropists, technology professionals and other members of the New England community when the annual gala is held Saturday, November 14, 2026, at the Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, Massachusetts.
The winners were selected by a jury representing a range of professional backgrounds, including technology, healthcare, finance, media, entrepreneurship and community service.
The 2026 judging panel included nine members. Here is a look at the judges, listed alphabetically by last name:
Ash Ashutosh
CEO, Building Pinecone
Ash Ashutosh is a serial entrepreneur with more than three decades of strategy and operational experience in the technology industry. He has founded three storage and data infrastructure companies—Serano Systems, AppIQ, and Actifio—leading them to hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues and eventual acquisitions.
His four-decade technology career has also included serving as CTO of HP’s storage division, a partner at venture capital firm Greylock, and Global Director of Solution Sales at Google.
Ash’s areas of expertise include artificial intelligence, data management, cloud computing, software, systems, and storage.
He holds a degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in computer science from Penn State University.
Dr. Salil Midha, MD
Chief of Cardiology, MelroseWakefield Hospital
Dr. Salil Midha is a cardiologist whose work has included expanding access to cardiac care and rehabilitation services in the Greater Boston area and the developing countries.
More than 25 years ago, Dr. Midha helped bring the first cardiac catheterization laboratory to MelroseWakefield Hospital and established the area’s first cardiac rehabilitation program. His work has contributed to the expansion of comprehensive cardiac services for local patients.
Dr. Midha is also the founder of the Boston Cardiac Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides medical technologies and services to communities in developing countries.
Over the past three decades, members of the foundation have performed thousands of lifesaving heart operations for patients who otherwise might not have been able to afford care.
Through his medical and philanthropic work, Dr. Midha has focused on expanding access to advanced cardiac care both locally and internationally.
Upendra Mishra
Publisher and Marketing Strategist
Upendra Mishra is the founder of Precise Marketing and publisher of multiple regional media platforms. He is also a storyteller, documentary filmmaker, and interviewer.
Through his Face-to-Face interview series, Mishra has profiled entrepreneurs, physicians, business leaders and thought leaders across New England. His documentary projects, including The Untold Story of Indian Music in America and Enabling Vision, explore cultural evolution and social impact.
Mishra has studied at institutions including the University of Southern California, El Colegio de México and Jawaharlal Nehru University. His work combines analytical research with journalism, documentary storytelling and community engagement.
Sangeeta Moorjani
EVP, Fidelity Investments
Sangeeta Moorjani has spent more than 25 years in financial services, including more than two decades at Fidelity Investments. She began her career at Citibank in Toronto after completing her MBA and has since held leadership positions across a range of businesses serving individual customers and institutions.
At Fidelity, Moorjani leads the business serving not-for-profit institutions. Her team works with more than 800 clients and approximately one million employees across the United States, helping employers provide benefits designed to attract and retain talent while helping employees make the most of those benefits.
Moorjani is particularly focused on financial wellness and believes that understanding personal finances and making informed financial decisions are important components of overall life and mental wellness.
At Fidelity, she has had the opportunity to lead businesses serving a broad range of financial needs, including retirement savings, health savings accounts and student debt programs.
“I’ve been in financial services all my career. This wasn’t part of a master plan,” Moorjani has said. “At the end of the day finances are an important part of our life. Understanding your finances and making the right financial decisions can truly allow people to lead the life they choose.”
Mohan Nannapaneni
Co-Founder and CTO, Sigma Systems Inc. and Shimily Inc.; Founder, TEAM Aid
Mohan Nannapaneni is an entrepreneur and philanthropist and the founder of Massachusetts-based TEAM Aid, a nonprofit organization that assists individuals and families facing emergencies while living or traveling abroad.
Since its founding in 2017, TEAM Aid has transported more than 3,000 mortal remains to India and 21 other countries and has assisted families with religious funerals in the United States and Canada. The organization also provides support to individuals facing immigration and legal challenges.
Nannapaneni has been involved in community service for more than two decades. In India, he helped rebuild three government schools in 2001 and 2008, contributing more than $350,000 to the projects. He has also provided financial support to more than 80 rural and underprivileged students pursuing higher education in medicine and engineering, including at institutions such as the IITs.
His service to the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) includes serving as president and holding various executive positions for more than a decade.
Nannapaneni has also advocated for students affected by the closure of Tri-Valley University, intervening on behalf of more than 2,400 students facing deportation.
Under his leadership, TEAM Aid has developed a network of more than 3,000 volunteers across North America and more than 20 other countries. The organization assists families dealing with sudden deaths, accidents, homicides, suicides, crime and other emergencies.
Nannapaneni has received numerous awards and recognitions for his community service and philanthropic work in India and the United States.
Mandy Pant, Ph.D
Senior Director, Intel Corporation
Mondira (Mandy) Pant, Ph.D., is a global technology leader and serves as Senior Director of Product–Foundry Interface and Pathfinding at Intel. In this role, she works at the intersection of product design and advanced semiconductor technologies, helping drive innovation in the global technology industry.
A respected authority in VLSI engineering, Dr. Pant has authored more than 20 technical papers and holds multiple patents. She has played an instrumental role in fostering academic-industry collaborations around the world and is a frequent keynote speaker at international technology conferences.
Her career reflects a strong commitment to innovation, mentorship, and advancing women in STEM fields. Through her professional and community engagement, she continues to inspire the next generation of women pursuing careers in technology and engineering.
Raghu Saranathan
Cloud Engineering Product Manager, Pegasystems Inc.
Raghu Saranathan is a technology professional who began his career as a software engineer before moving into architecture and technology solutions. After a decade working on technology implementations, he pursued a master’s degree in management at Harvard with the goal of becoming an end-to-end solutions provider.
Saranathan served as a Technical Program Manager at Health Connector from 2007 to 2014 and at Atlantic Broadband from 2014 to 2018. He is currently a Cloud Engineering Product Manager at Pegasystems Inc., where he works directly with customers to understand their challenges and develop features and products to address those needs.
Earlier in his career, Saranathan worked on the implementation of healthcare reform at the state level in Massachusetts. He led a cross-functional team that developed external APIs connecting the Health Connector portal with its trading partners and served as the lead on one of the portal’s three main modules. His work included major feature additions, including the integration of Provider Search, which was subsequently implemented nationwide.
“Technology might be complex to some, but I think if used effectively, it can simplify our lives,” Saranathan says.
Alongside his technology career, Saranathan is a semi-professional musician and has performed at events and raised funds for charitable causes. One of his musical highlights came in January 2011, when he was part of a quartet that sang the Canadian and American national anthems at a Boston Celtics pre-game event.
He began learning Carnatic music at age 7 and later continued his musical education in the Boston area. His musical interests also include Hindi film music, particularly the work of singers such as Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi.
Dr. Manju Sheth, MD
President, INE MultiMedia and Co-Founder, NECA
Dr. Manju Sheth is a physician with Beth Israel Lahey Health and a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment, community service, and media engagement. She serves as President of India New England Multimedia, the New England Choice Awards, and director of the Women of the Year Gala.
Dr. Sheth is also the host of the popular talk series Chai with Manju, which has featured prominent leaders and changemakers including Congressman Joe Kennedy III, Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Apple CEO John Sculley, philanthropist Sudha Murthy, spiritual leader Sadhguru, Congressman Ro Khanna, and singer Sonu Nigam.
A strong advocate for women’s health and empowerment, she has served in leadership roles with organizations such as the Indian Medical Association of New England (IMANE) and the nonprofit Akshaya Patra Foundation as a community ambassador.
She is also co-founder of the New England Choice Awards and president of Women Who Win. Dr. Sheth has received numerous honors, including the Leadership in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity award from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through the Asian and Pacific Islanders Commission.
She is a TEDx speaker and co-author of the books Women Who Win and Girls Who Win.
Aditi Taylor
Executive Vice President and Head of Operations, MFS Investment Management
Aditi Taylor is an executive vice president and head of operations at MFS Investment Management. She oversees the firm’s global investment operations, client reporting, performance, risk and attribution management, enterprise data management, transfer agency services at MFS Service Center, process optimization and internal controls management. She is also a member of the firm’s Enterprise Leadership Team.
Taylor joined MFS in 2017 as chief enterprise risk officer and moved to global investment operations and client support in 2021. She was named to her current position in 2025.
Before joining MFS, Taylor spent 18 years at Deloitte & Touche, where she began her career as a consultant in 1999 and later became a partner/principal in the Global Risk Advisory practice.
She has been recognized as a Boston Business Journal “40 Under 40” leader, a Leader in Diversity and one of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Ten Outstanding Young Leaders.
Beyond her professional career, Taylor has served as president of community organizations, including the India Association of Greater Boston.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Mumbai and a Master of Business Administration degree from Bentley University.
The 2026 New England Choice Awards Gala will be held on Saturday, November 14, at the Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, Massachusetts.
To buy your tickets, please click here.
