Meet the 35 rising professionals whose expertise is helping solve problems, strengthen operations and develop the industry’s next generation of talent.
Modern industry depends on engineers who can turn complex challenges into workable solutions—whether that means bringing a new production system online, restoring a critical process, strengthening quality systems or giving operators better tools to do their jobs. Control Engineering and Plant Engineering are pleased to recognize 35 such professionals in the 2026 class of Engineering Leaders Under 40.
The honorees work in settings as varied as chemical processing, food and beverage production, automotive manufacturing, water and wastewater treatment, energy, logistics, aerospace and industrial equipment manufacturing. Their projects span controls upgrades, machinery and process automation, digital transformation, reliability initiatives, new-product development and cybersecurity. Collectively, their work reflects an engineering profession focused on keeping essential operations productive, safe and prepared for change.
What distinguishes this group is the way they extend their impact beyond the project at hand. They share knowledge with technicians, operators and service teams; mentor students, interns and colleagues; establish standards; and build processes that enable others to succeed. In doing so, they help address a central challenge facing manufacturers: recruiting, training and retaining the skilled people required to sustain industrial progress.
The Engineering Leaders Under 40 program celebrates professionals whose contributions are already evident in the facilities, systems and teams they support. Meet the Class of 2026—engineers and leaders helping move industry forward, one solution, one improvement and one colleague at a time.
Engineering Leaders Under 40, Class of 2026
- Pratik Ainapure, 29
- Josh Bryant, 35
- Mattia Cecchetto, 26
- Henry Defibaugh, 25
- Stephen Fike, 37
- Lane Fisher, 36
- Vince Greczanik, 38
- Brian Hamler, 25
- Matthew Holman, 39
- Kelsea Hotvet, 38
- Joshua Jagnanan, 37
- Manish Kothawade, 39
- Garret Laugenour, 36
- Quentin Leitz, 30
- Thomas Manning, 25
- Morgan Massino, 27
- David Miller, 29
- Avadh Nagaralawala, 37
- Matthew Nedved, 38
- Dimitri Novickoff, 38
- Tatum O’Kennedy, 31
- Courtney Pickett, 28
- Ashley Pickford, 30
- Rob Pifer, 31
- William Poirier, 26
- Chandradhar Prasad, 38
- Andrew Reffner, 36
- Jon Richardson, 37
- Divya Srikakulapu, 30
- Adam Tokarski, 35
- Manny Villarreal, 32
- Dean Wadley, 26
- Josh Weitz, 38
- Allan Wilson, 24
- Dremere Woods, 26
Learn more about this program and how to nominate a colleague for 2027 at www.plantengineering.com/events-and-awards/engineering-leaders-under-40 or www.controleng.com/leaders-under-40. Nominations open April 1, 2027.
