What, exactly, makes a good mentor in compliance? Is it someone who supports your career? Someone who teaches you about how to handle ethical blind spots? Someone who can answer your questions, no matter how silly or naive? A good mentor offers some combination of guidance, compassion, wisdom, and straight talk. The three finalists for Compliance Mentor of the Year prove there is no one answer as to what makes a great mentor. But you know it when you see it.
Without further ado, and in alphabetical order, are the three finalists for Compliance Mentor of the Year for the 2026 Excellence in Compliance Awards.
- Maurice Crescenzi, Industry Practice Leader, Moody’s Corporation
Excerpt from Maurice’s nomination: ”Rather than offering easy answers, Maurice used the story to force us to confront uncomfortable questions about collective responsibility, moral blind spots, and the cost of ethical inaction. It was a lesson in how ethical failures often arise not from bad intentions, but from good people moving forward without stopping to ask who is being left behind.”
- Samer Jannoun, Head of Regional Ethics & Compliance, Special Oversight, Meta
Excerpt from Samer’s nomination: ”In this role, he has managed 10 junior to mid-career compliance managers, working closely with each to ensure that they get the most out of their contracts at Meta and build their own profile. From the back of this team, members have gone on to senior roles at Amazon, Coca-Cola, and Google, showcasing the impact of working closely with Samer.”
- Laura McNamara, Vice President and Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer at University of Vermont Health
Excerpt from Laura’s nomination: ”Laura believes that compliance is a people-first profession and that relationships are critical to programmatic success. This is evident in the breadth of the mentorship she provides to the entire UVM Health team, not just those who report to her.”
Leadership from Compliance Week and its sister organization, the Ethics and Compliance Initiative (ECI), judged dozens of nominations for Compliance Mentor of the Year submitted by colleagues, friends, students, and others who know the organizations and were able to best articulate their accomplishments.
Of these three finalists, one will be named Compliance Mentor of the Year for the 2026 Excellence in Compliance Awards, at Compliance Week’s National Conference, to be held May 6-8 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Now in their seventh year, CW’s Excellence in Compliance Awards annually honor the brightest minds, biggest innovations, and crowning achievements in compliance.
At the reception on the evening of May 7, Compliance Week will also hand out awards to Joe Murphy for Lifetime Achievement in Compliance; CCO of the Year, Compliance Program of the Year, Compliance Innovator of the Year, and Rising Star in Compliance.
Finalists for those awards will be named later this week.
Congratulations to all three finalists!
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