Introducing The PACT Ecosystem Awards

For 33 years, this event has celebrated the people and companies shaping the future of technology, life sciences, and healthcare in the Greater Philadelphia region.

Our new name reflects the evolution of our community while continuing the tradition of recognizing the achievements, breakthroughs, and leadership that define our region’s innovation story.

Past winners have included Spark Therapeutics, AscellaHealth, Crossbeam, Capgemini, Tendo, and many others who continue to shape our region’s competitive edge.

NAVIGATION

AWARDS CRITERIA + APPLICATIONS

2026 Awards Criteria

To nominate a deserving company (whether your own or those in your network/portfolio/community), please follow this link and complete the requested information.

The deadline for nominations has been extended to January 15th, 2026.

Please click below to see the criteria for each of the seven prestigious Ecosystem Awards.

Technology Startup Of The Year

A technology company must either provide proprietary technology or intellectual property or services that leverage proprietary technology or IP.

Criteria:

Company should have been founded, launched meaningful operations, or pivoted to current strategic focus at some point in the period between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025.
Company must have its HQ or significant operations in the region and a significant portion of its leadership, employees, and consultants must be based in the region.

Key Considerations:

Product or service innovation including market need or assessment.
Potential for significant growth.
The management team and its ability and record of achieving success.
A demonstration of success such as significant milestones, raising capital, and revenue.

Healthcare & Life Sciences Startup Of The Year

Criteria:

Company should have been founded, launched meaningful operations, or pivoted to current strategic focus at some point between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025.
Company must have its HQ or significant operations in the region and a significant portion of its leadership, employees, and consultants must be based in the region.

Key Considerations:

Product innovation including unmet market needs and how that is uniquely addressed by your product/service.
The management team and its ability and record of achieving success.
Demonstrated success (e.g., significant milestones, raising capital, pre-clinical/clinical development, early revenue, etc.)

Technology Emerging Growth Company Of The Year

A technology company must either provide proprietary technology or intellectual property or services that leverage proprietary technology or IP.

Criteria:

Revenues must be a minimum of $3M ARR or TTM Revenue and no more than $50M in ARR or TTM Revenue. *If ARR/revenues are projected to exceed $50m in 2025, please complete the Technology Company application.
Company must have its HQ or significant operations in the region and a significant portion of its leadership, employees, and consultants must be based in the region.

Key Considerations:

Product or service innovation, including proprietary technology or other advantage.
Company revenue & growth milestones including strategic decisions made by management that led to growth in revenues and/or earnings.
Strength of management team including ability to raise capital.
Demonstration of a sustainable and scalable business model.

Healthcare & Life Sciences Growth Company Of The Year

Criteria:

Company must operate in industry segments such as specialty pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, instrumentation, diagnostics, health tech, etc. If revenue producing, the company must have at least $3M of ARR or TTM Revenue. If clinical stage, company must have successfully demonstrated proof of concept in human testing in at least one product/application.
Company must have its HQ or significant operations in the region and a significant portion of its leadership, employees, and consultants must be based in the region.

Key Considerations:

Product innovation including unmet market need and how that is uniquely addressed by your product/service.
The management team and its ability and record of achieving success.
Demonstrated success (e.g., significant milestones, raising capital, pre-clinical/clinical development, early revenue, etc.).

Transaction Of The Year (Exit, Investment, Partnerships, M&A)

Criteria:

Deal must have been fully executed between November 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025.
Company must have its HQ or significant operations in the region and a significant portion of its leadership, employees, and consultants must be based in the region.
Events that qualify for this category include: IPO; Capital Raise; Buy-Side Merger & Acquisition Transaction; Sell-Side Merger & Acquisition Transaction.

Key Considerations:

Realized returns for the investors and management.
EBITDA margin and revenue growth.
Strategic considerations of the deal (e.g. commercial strategy, innovation, and contribution to market development).
Company performance prior to transaction.
How the sale or purchase impacted the broader industry(s) of the buyer and/or seller.

Technology Company Of The Year

A technology company must either provide proprietary technology or intellectual property or services that leverage proprietary technology or IP.

Criteria:

Company with more than $50 million in ARR or TTM revenues projected for the current fiscal year.
Company must have its HQ or significant operations in the region and a significant portion of its leadership, employees, and consultants must be based in the region.

Key Considerations:

Leadership and product and/or service innovation in an industry or market.
Significant company milestones including financial accomplishments.
The Company’s connection and commitments to the Greater Philadelphia region through community and industry involvement.

Healthcare & Life Sciences Company Of The Year

Criteria:

Company must operate in industry segments such as specialty pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, instrumentation, therapeutics, diagnostics, health tech, etc. If revenue producing, the company must have at least $50M of ARR or TTM Revenue. If clinical stage, the company must be in advanced clinical studies and ideally in multiple products.
Company must have its HQ or significant operations in the region and a significant portion of its leadership, employees, and consultants must be based in the region.

Key Considerations:

Company should demonstrate the impact of a proprietary product to the patient and/or clinician or research and development of an innovative product and its potential impact on the market.
Company should demonstrate its ability to raise capital; achieve success in its development strategy and clinical pathway; commercialize and generate revenue.
Company should demonstrate its ability to raise capital; achieve success in its development strategy and clinical pathway; commercialize and generate revenue.
The Company’s connection and commitments to the Greater Philadelphia region through community and industry involvement.

LEGEND ECOSYSTEM AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

The Legend Award for Lifetime Achievement is presented to individuals who have forwarded technology and sciences in the region through leadership and exemplary work. The Legend recipient must have a strong connection to the community, a history of personal accomplishments, and a track record of success.

2026 Winner: Charles Robins

Charles Robins
Managing Director

Charles M. Robins heads Fairmount Partner’s Technology practice. Mr. Robins focuses on serving middle-market and emerging-growth companies, providing strategic and financial, merger and acquisition and private financing advisory services in technology-related sectors including software and telecommunications. As Fairmount’s senior technology expert, Mr. Robins has over 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive, strategic consultant and investment banker.

Experience:

Previously, he was Managing Director, co-head of Corporate Finance and led the technology practice in the U.S. for Investec Inc., an international public diversified financial services company. Mr. Robins was also a member of Investec’s commitment committee and management committee. Prior to Investec, Mr. Robins was a principal with PMG Capital where he was head of Technology Research and the Technology Investment Banking practice.

Prior to entering investment banking, Mr. Robins was an executive at Safeguard Scientifics, a high-technology investment firm and was co-founder of Rabbit Software Corporation, a publicly traded pioneer that developed and marketed software-based communications products for enterprise networks. In addition, he was president of Atlantix Corporation, a Perot Investment Group company and managed advanced technology development for Shared Medical Systems (healthcare) and SEI Corporation (financial services). Mr. Robins was also co-founder of Multiple Funding Pension Inc., a developer of financial analysis software.

Mr. Robins has served on a number of public and private Boards of Directors, including Ben Franklin Technology Partners, where he previously served as Chairman, and the Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (“PACT”), where he also previously served as lead judge of that organization’s annual Enterprise Awards.

Education:

Mr. Robins was a Ph.D. research fellow at New York University where he also earned master’s degrees in computer science and mathematics. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brooklyn College and is an honorary member of Sigma Xi in sciences and Pi Mu Epsilon in mathematics. Mr. Robins has lectured in computer science and mathematics at the college level and authored a number of articles as well as published a book on computer software.