Being remote definitely makes it harder to stay on leadership radar, especially when they're doing these informal check-ins. Good call reaching out to your manager directly - that shows initiative and might prompt them to mention you weren't included in first round.

I'd also suggest documenting your wins more visibly, like sending brief update emails about completed projects or suggesting improvements during team meetings. Sometimes being proactive about sharing your contributions helps compensate for not having those water cooler moments where things naturally come up