Prenominations are open for the 2026 ORBIE Awards!
Nominate a deserving CIO or CISO from the Tennessee technology community today.
Please note that you and the potential nominee will not be alerted to the next steps until nominations officially open. Anyone in the community may nominate, and there is no limit to the number of nominations you may submit. The best nominations are from trusted business partners and colleagues who know and are known by the nominee.
Who will you nominate?
When everything works perfectly, no one seems to notice the IT teams responsible for the innovative technology and complex, secure systems required to support modern business and commerce. Until now…
The ORBIE® Award recognizes Chief Information Officers and Chief Information Security Officers for leadership excellence and the business value created through technology innovation.
The ORBIE Awards are presented annually by TennesseeCIO, the preeminent peer leadership network of Tennessee Chief Information Officers. TennesseeCIO brings together technology executives from our region’s largest public and private companies, government, education, healthcare and nonprofit organizations to connect, recognize and inspire CIOs to achieve their leadership potential.
Anyone may nominate a deserving CIO and/or CISO. However, the best nominations are from trusted business partners and colleagues who know and are known by the nominee.
Meet the winners of the 2025 Tennessee CIO ORBIE Awards
To see a previous award season’s special section and see the media coverage of prior ORBIE finalists, click here.
Recognition Technology Leaders Deserve
In 1998, the first ORBIE Awards were presented to three deserving Chief Information Officers in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2025, the ORBIE Awards will be presented in 30 cities, cumulatively recognizing over 1,000 finalists and over 500 CIO winners. Only those who accept their nomination are considered eligible to be named finalists or winners.
The Nashville Business Journal will announce the ORBIE finalists in print and online editions on February 7, 2025. All finalists and their organizations are profiled in a Nashville Business Journal special section printed the week of the ORBIE Awards.
Judging Criteria
Tennessee ORBIE nominees must meet the following requirements:
- Holds the title of chief information officer or equivalent senior IT executive position.
- Is a member of senior management.
- Primarily responsible for the IT operations of an organization or subsidiary based in Tennessee.
Finalists and winners are selected by an independent peer review process, led by prior ORBIE recipients.
- Leadership and management effectiveness
- Business value created by technology innovation
- Engagement in industry and community endeavors
And the ORBIE goes to…
An independent, peer-review process led by prior ORBIE winners from across the U.S. determines the finalists and winners. Finalists are slated into categories based upon the size and scope of organization and responsibilities. Sponsors and staff are not involved in judging and results are not announced until the ORBIE Awards event.
The ORBIE Awards is an academy-style awards program featuring a prominent leadership keynote, video interviews of all finalists, and the presentation of the prestigious ORBIE trophies attended by hundreds of business and technology executives.
You get the cred…
ORBIE Finalists and winners appreciate being nominated and frequently thank the person and organization who nominated them at Awards events and even at the Awards event as they accept their ORBIE.
Nominating CIOs or CISOs you know is a great way to invest in relationships with CIOs, CISOs and equivalent c-level technology executives.