By Janus Boye
The Jon Panella award given to Janus Boye
For the first time, I’ve received an award for building communities and connecting people.
Yesterday in Amsterdam, I became the first recipient of the Jon Panella Award from the MACH Alliance. I’m proud, grateful and still taking it in.
The award honours someone whose work has advanced open, composable and connected technology across the wider industry through building, teaching, connecting or advocating. It recognises the people influenced, the projects enabled and the ideas shared.
One question guiding the judges was particularly humbling: “Has this person’s work advanced the ecosystem itself, and would the industry be measurably different without it?”
The award carries Jon’s name and honours the way he supported other people’s careers, shared insights and helped the whole industry move forward.
To me, the MACH Alliance stands for education and honest exchange over sales pitches. Receiving an award from a non-profit with those values means so much. They are at the heart of what we work to create at Boye & Company. If you're new to the Alliance, I wrote about what it's all about back in 2021: What's the MACH Alliance all about?
Thank you to everyone who made this possible and has been part of the journey since 2003.
Janus at the award reception at MACH X: Amsterdam 2026 with Jasmin Guthmann and Giancarlo Anania
My long-time friend Matt Garrepy, who served with Jon on the MACH Alliance executive advisory board, was in the room and filmed the moment I received the award. He has also written a moving tribute to Jon and to what this award stands for: Honouring Jon, Celebrating Janus: The First Jon Panella Impact Award.
Be part of the journey
If you'd like to be part of the community behind this award, you're very welcome to join us. Take a look at our upcoming conferences or find a peer group that matches your role and challenges.