Mainframe is more than a technology; it’s a community. From educators and engineers to quiet experts keeping systems running, Planet Mainframe spent the month sharing stories – your stories.
Welcome to the wrap-up of our second annual Influential Mainframers campaign, honoring the individuals who shaped the platform’s past and are building its future.
And the response? Bigger than ever.
We received a record 147 nominations from 15 countries. From that incredible pool, Planet Mainframe selected 44 mainframers as 2025 honorees. An additional 33 earned honorable mentions for their ongoing contributions to the ecosystem.
Spotlight on the Top Influential Mainframers
Each year, we select a handful of honorees for in-depth feature profiles capturing their work, ethos, and unique journeys. The 2025 Top Influential Mainframers are:
- Magie Hall, Ph.D. – A force connecting legacy systems to modern workforce needs, known for her insights and commitment to using technology to improve the human experience.
- Misty Decker – The “Greta Thunberg of Mainframes,” fiercely advocating for pragmatic, value-driven modernization.
- Felix Scott – A rising star from Vertali’s New to Z program, proving that curiosity and humility are powerful assets for a new generation.
- Vikas Sinha, Ph.D. – One lunch changed his career path, and now this executive leader advances both technology and education.
The 2025 Influential Mainframers
The 40 Influential Mainframers span geographies, generations, and job titles. They are the folks behind performance tuning breakthroughs, critical middleware support, top-rated conference sessions, internal mentorship, and ecosystem advocacy. Whether they’ve been supporting teams for decades or just recently stepped into the spotlight, they represent the heartbeat of the mainframe today. Congratulations! Explore the list and read their bios.
- Niall Ashley
- Abdul Hafiz Abdul Karim
- Anthony (Tony) Anter
- Ron Argent
- Stuart Ashby
- John Baker
- Venkat Balabhadrapatruni
- Bruno Binotti Souza Camargo
- Derek Britton
- PJ Catalano
- Gareth Copplestone-Jones
- Richelle Anne Craw
- Marcus Davage
- Geoffrey Decker
- Gatien Dupre
- Peter Enrico
- Javier Estrada Benavides
- Tim Full
- Manuel Gómez Burriel
- Joe Winchester
Honorable Mentions
Choosing just 44 wasn’t easy. That’s why we’re also recognizing 34 additional professionals for honorable mention, whose nominations include long-time contributors, champions of open source, and leaders.
- Tofik Jemal Ahmed
- Jakub Balhar
- Saurabh Banerjee
- John Bradley
- Sam Buhler
- John Campbell
- Natalie Carrillo
- Chris Crone
- George DeCandio
- Sebastian Dewar
- Priya Doty
- Trevor Eddolls
- Stefan Ekman
- Nicole Fagen
- James Gill
- Reg Harbeck
- Matt Hogstrom
- Steve Hosie
- Georges Kopp
- Greg Lotko
- John (JJ) Lovett
- Vaughn Marshall
- Py Moon
- Craig Mullins
- Sanket Nawale
- Ravi Patil
- Steven Perva
- Jessielaine Punongbayan
- Rose Sakach
- Siba Shaveri
- Saberi Shiva
- Sanjay Tamboli
- Stan Muse
- Allan Zander
What’s Next?
This campaign is about recognition and connection. We hope these stories inspire you to collaborate with colleagues and seek opportunities to share your experiences and recruit newbies. The next generation of influential mainframers is already watching.
From all of us at Planet Mainframe, thank you to everyone who nominated, supported, and celebrated this year’s honorees.
Explore the 2025 Influential Mainframers
Got someone in mind for 2026? Keep an eye out—we’ll be back.
Amanda Hendley is the Managing Editor of Planet Mainframe and host of the Virtual Mainframe User Groups. With a career rooted in the technology community, she has held leadership roles at the Technology Association of Georgia, Computer Measurement Group (CMG), and Planet Mainframe. A proud Georgia Tech graduate, Amanda spends her free time renovating homes and volunteering with SEGSPrescue.org in Atlanta, Georgia.