Next CIO Awards Announces Inaugural United States Honorees Recognizing the Rising Generation of Technology Leaders

The Next CIO Awards honor senior IT leaders, digital executives, and transformational technology changemakers who demonstrate exceptional leadership, strategic vision, and business impact as they help shape the future of enterprise technology. Winners were selected for their ability to lead transformative initiatives, champion innovation, modernize operations and advance AI and data strategies.

“These leaders represent the future of the CIO profession,” said Richard Smith, head of event content for the CIO 100 Awards & Conference. “The inaugural Next CIO Award winners are not only delivering meaningful technology outcomes today but also setting the standard for the next era of IT leadership.”

Fourteen Next CIO winners will be recognized at CIO 100 Awards & Conference, August 17-19, Omni PGA Frisco, TX. The event will bring together technology executives, industry innovators, and business leaders to celebrate emerging leadership and discuss the evolving role of technology in driving enterprise growth and transformation. Learn more and register for the CIO 100 Awards & Conference.

Leading technology companies supporting the event include PwC, Moveworks, Zoho, KPMG, Cloudflare, HPE, Apptio an IBM Company, Celonis, AVM Consulting, Couchbase, IANS, Starburst, Thales, Tricon Infotech, and Unisys. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities here.

2026 Next CIO Award Winners

• Collin Campbell, Cushman & Wakefield

• Rob Ewing, The Hartford

• Oliver Galicki, Memorial Hermann Health System

• Amyn Gillani, Academy Sports + Outdoors

• Trista Huang, Blackstone Real Estate – Hotels and Resorts

• Jerry Imsand, Tennessee Dept. of Finance & Administration Strategic Technology Solutions

• Kari Johnson, City of Scottsdale, Arizona

• Erik Langhans, The Hartford

• David O’Brien, Covenant Health

• Peter Robinson, Avnet

• Ajit Singh, The Friedkin Group, Inc

• Tipu Swaran, Paalam Labs

• Igor Valentim, IDB Invest

• Kerry Wang, Aetna, a CVS Health Company

About the Next CIO Awards

The Next CIO Awards recognizes emerging technology leaders who are driving innovation, business transformation, and operational excellence within their organizations. The program celebrates rising executives who exemplify strategic leadership, technical expertise, and a commitment to advancing the future of enterprise IT.

For more information about the Next CIO Awards, including future nominations, sponsorship opportunities, and event registration, visit https://event.foundryco.com/cio100-symposium-and-awards/awards/

About CIO:

CIO focuses on attracting the highest concentration of enterprise CIOs and business technology executives with unparalleled peer insight and expertise on business strategy, innovation, and leadership. As organizations grow with digital transformation, CIO provides its readers with key insights on career development, including certifications, hiring practices and skills development. The award-winning CIO portfolio provides business technology leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT’s role in achieving business goals. CIO is published by Foundry. Follow CIO on X, LinkedIn and Facebook @CIOOnline& @Foundryevents.

About Foundry:

Foundry helps companies bring their visions to reality through a combination of media, marketing technologies, and proprietary data on a global scale. Our platforms are powered by data from an owned and operated ecosystem of global editorial brands, awards, and events, all engineered and integrated to drive marketing campaigns for technology companies.

Foundry is one of the world’s leading tech media, data, and marketing services companies, and is the proud owner of the global tech sector’s most revered media brands including CIO, CSO, Network World, InfoWorld, PC World and Macworld.

To learn more about Foundry, visit foundryco.com.