Inc. Names Donna Belardi to the 2026 Female Founders 500 List

Inc.’s annual Female Founders list celebrates the nation’s most innovative women entrepreneurs, who collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025

NEW YORK, March 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Belardi Wong is proud to announce that Chairman & CEO, Donna Belardi has been named to Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500, an annual list honoring the most dynamic women business leaders in the United States. The honor recognizes founders whose bold ideas, resilience, and execution are shaping the future of their industries.

The 2026 Female Founders honorees collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025 revenue and $12.2 billion in funding to date, underscoring the economic impact of women-led businesses across sectors.

Each year, Inc. editors evaluate applications through a rigorous, multi-round selection process. Founders are assessed on both quantitative performance metrics, including revenue growth, funding, sales, and audience size, as well as qualitative factors such as innovation, social impact, and brand momentum. The final list represents entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and measurable progress over the past year. Previous honorees have included such game-changing leaders as Billie Jean King, Sallie Krawcheck, Serena Williams, and Emma Grede, all of whom have transformed their industries and broken barriers along the way.

“I’m deeply honored to be included among such an inspiring group of founders. At Belardi Wong, we’ve built our business on a commitment to performance, creativity, and long-term partnership,” said Donna Belardi. “As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, we remain focused on helping brands grow in smarter, more measurable ways.”

Honoree selection is also honed through the evaluation of the program’s advisory board, which includes Patty Arvielo, co-founder and CEO of New American Funding; Tiffany Dufu, president of the Tory Burch Foundation; Joy Mangano, co-founder and CEO of CleanBoss; Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder and CEO of GORGIE; Sheila Lirio Marcelo, co-founder and CEO of Ohai.ai and founder of Care.com; and Melissa Mash, co-founder and CEO of Dagne Dover.

Donna Belardi is a seasoned marketing executive and entrepreneur with more than 40 years of experience driving growth for premium retail and consumer brands. As Chairman and CEO of Belardi Wong, she co-founded and built the firm into one of the industry’s most respected marketing partners, evolving it from a catalog-focused business into a fully integrated, data-driven agency serving more than 300 leading brands. Under her leadership, the company has maintained profitability for nearly three decades while achieving significant growth, including approximately 85% expansion across key service lines over the past five years.

In the past year, Belardi has led a pivotal phase of innovation, accelerating the company’s transformation into a full-funnel marketing partner spanning direct mail, programmatic, and digital media. She played a key role in launching Swift, the firm’s programmatic direct mail platform, and expanding capabilities across media buying and lifecycle marketing, with programmatic and digital divisions growing roughly 40–50% year over year. A forward-thinking industry leader, she continues to champion data-driven strategy, thoughtful adoption of AI, and postal reform, positioning Belardi Wong and its clients for continued success in an evolving marketing landscape.

Belardi is also a vocal advocate for modernization across the marketing ecosystem, including ongoing efforts to support postal reform and the responsible adoption of AI. She remains deeply committed to fostering innovation while preserving the strategic, human-centered approach that has defined her career, positioning Belardi Wong and its clients for continued success in an increasingly complex and evolving marketplace.

"Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list,” says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. “The honorees on this year’s list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they’re showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like.”

Several honorees will be featured in Inc. magazine’s Spring print issue, on newsstands March 17, 2026. To see the complete list of honorees, please visit: https://www.inc.com/female-founders/2026.

About Inc.
Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

About Belardi Wong
Belardi Wong is a leading full-service marketing strategy and creative services firm specializing in an integrated media strategy across print and digital channels. Founded in 1997, Belardi Wong has spearheaded customer acquisition and retention strategy for leading brands across multiple verticals, including Anthropologie, Crocs, Blu Dot, Serena & Lily, Crate & Barrel, LoveShackFancy, Jonathan Adler, Lands’ End, Outerknown, Reformation, Perigold, Birkenstock, Lakeshore Learning, Tea Collection, and many more. With capabilities spanning audience strategy, media planning, creative, prospecting, and customer lifecycle marketing, Belardi Wong delivers integrated solutions that help brands find new customers, increase market share and improve bottom-line profitability. To learn more, visit belardiwong.com.

Media Contact:
Alyssa Tognetti
Broadsheet Communications for Belardi Wong
alyssa@broadsheetcomms.com

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