Author: Roger Date: 2026/04/29
Too many CEOs in Taiwan have been quietly doing agile — delivering real results — but there has never been a stage where they could be recognized for it. The problem isn’t that their stories lack weight. The problem is that this industry has never had an award designed for that level. The agile world has plenty of recognition — almost all of it goes to engineers, Scrum Masters, and Product Owners. CEO-level agile leadership has long gone unnamed. The 4th “Top Agile CEO Award” is now officially open, with a deadline of June 15, 2026. This award is hosted by the Scrum Alliance Taiwan International Agile Ambassador and has generated over 300 international media mentions across three editions. If your organization has delivered concrete agile transformation results over the past few years, this is the stage that belongs to you.
Where This Award Started: Frustration
Working alongside organizations as a coach and guide, I kept seeing the same thing: when Taiwanese companies deliver real agile results, there is no system in place to record them.
It’s not that the stories don’t exist. It’s that there is no stage.
For the past decade, agile awards in this industry have gone to the technical layer, the execution layer — almost none focused on recognizing CEO-level decision-making. But I believe this: when a CEO leads agile transformation personally, that is the single most critical variable in whether a company truly changes. Not the IT department. Not the Scrum Master. The CEO.
This award is a statement: agile is not IT’s job. It’s the CEO’s job.
Three Editions In — The Numbers Speak
Edition 1: 10 winners. 67 international media mentions.
Edition 2: 15 winners. 77 international media mentions. That year, the CEO of Scrum Alliance recorded a personal video congratulating the winners. That moment told me this had become something bigger than a Taiwan event.
Edition 3: 12 winners. 187 international media mentions — a new all-time high.
Across three editions, over 300 international media outlets have left a permanent record. These aren’t traffic numbers. They are each winner’s personal brand — a lasting mark on the global record. Each ceremony has drawn 200 to 300 attendees, many of them senior decision-makers.
The 4th edition eliminates rankings. Every genuine agile story deserves to stand on its own — not be sorted into first, second, or third.
Past Winners Were Never from “Tech”
Many people assume this award is a tech industry thing. The historical data completely dismantles that assumption.
The general manager of PepsiCo China, the president of Pfizer Taiwan, the director of a government water authority’s river branch, the general manager of the largest construction firm in southern Taiwan, the managing director of a US engineering consultancy, senior government officials — all of them are past winners of this award.
Not a single one comes from a typical tech company.
What judges have always cared about is not which industry you’re in — it’s authenticity. Does your video include concrete numbers? Concrete changes? Real challenges, and how you worked through them?
A polished presentation isn’t worth a thing. We want real stories.
What Judges Look For: Three Criteria, No Mountain of Paperwork
You don’t need to submit a mountain of complex documents — that in itself is the agile spirit.
Applicants submit a 7-to-10-minute video. You speak in it yourself. Chinese and English subtitles. Upload to YouTube. AI-generated avatars are strictly prohibited — because what this award cares about is whether you, as a CEO, are willing to stand up personally and say this out loud.
Three evaluation criteria: First, your personal contribution to this case — even if you’re the general manager and didn’t write a single backlog item, if you initiated it, gave it resources, and held steady through the hardest stretch, that counts. Second, your contribution to the organization’s overall agile transformation. Third, the concrete business impact this case had on the company.
If you’re not sure whether you qualify, here’s a quick self-check: open the 12 Agile Principles, go through them one by one against your case, and see how many apply. If seven or more match, your story is a textbook agile case.
What This Award Means for a CEO’s Brand
Many organizations want to transform, but they only send middle managers to training. That’s a fantasy — the belief that you can change a company without touching the top.
This is the only agile recognition focused specifically on the CEO level. Over 300 international media mentions across three editions — all public, all permanent. After winning, your case goes on the website and becomes part of the Taiwan Agile Hall of Fame. To your clients, your employees, your shareholders, this is a public signal — not a certificate hanging on a wall.
More importantly, this award can only be won once in a lifetime. That’s a deliberate design choice, made so that each award carries real historical weight. Which is exactly why each winner treats it differently.
When and Where: 4th Edition Details
Award Ceremony: August 15, 2026, afternoon, National Taiwan University Hospital International Conference Center, Room 402.
Over 200 guests are expected to attend, more than half of them in management roles. An invitation-only celebration dinner follows the ceremony. The event itself is a high-density senior executive network in action.
Closing: Are You Still Waiting for a Better Moment?
My observation: waiting is one of the most expensive decisions an organization can make.
Your agile story doesn’t appreciate in value just by sitting there untold. It stays inside your organization, invisible — and no one outside will ever know you did it.
Some stories deserve to be seen by the world.
Application deadline: June 15, 2026. Contact RSG Taipei for registration information.
