Top Technology Executives Recognized at the 2025 Tennessee ORBIE Awards

Leading CIOs and CISOs honored for leadership, innovation, and business impact

/EIN News/ -- NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 2025 Tennessee ORBIE Awards recognized the exceptional leadership and innovation of top technology executives from Sedgwick, Dollar General, Baptist Memorial Health Care, Ballad Health, Middle Tennessee State University, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, & St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Inc. Hosted by TennesseeCIO, a chapter of the Inspire Leadership Network, the prestigious awards honor CIOs and C-suite technology leaders who drive business transformation and industry impact.

Winners were recognized across eight categories: Global, Large Enterprise, Enterprise, Large Corporate, Corporate, CISO Large Enterprise, CISO Enterprise, and Leadership. The ceremony, which took place at the Omni Nashville brought together top executives and industry leaders to celebrate excellence in technology leadership.

“Great technology executives understand how connections drive transformation,” said Al Smith, TennesseeCIO Chair. “The ORBIE^® Awards recognize CIOs and CISOs who leverage relationships to drive innovation, solve complex challenges, and shape the future of Tennessee.”

Meet the 2025 Tennessee ORBIE Award Winners: 

J. Tod Fetherling, Author & Speaker, received the Leadership ORBIE.

Jason Landrum, Global CIO, Sedgwick, received the Global ORBIE for organizations over $1 billion annual revenue and multi-national operations.

Carman Wenkoff, EVP & CIO, Dollar General, received the Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $9 billion annual revenue.

Tom Barnett, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Baptist Memorial Health Care, received the Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $3 billion annual revenue.

Pam Austin, SVP & CIO, Ballad Health, received the Large Corporate ORBIE for organizations over $1 billion annual revenue.

Yvette Clark, VP IT & CIO, Middle Tennessee State University, received the Corporate ORBIE for organizations up to $1 billion annual revenue.

Steve Crocker, VP & CISO, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, received the CISO Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $2 billion annual revenue.

Brian Elrod, VP & CISO, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Inc., received the CISO Enterprise ORBIE for organizations up to $2 billion annual revenue.

About the ORBIE:

The ORBIE is the preeminent executive recognition for C-suite leaders. Since 1998, the ORBIE Awards have recognized leadership excellence, building relationships between executives and trusted business partners, and inspiring the next generation of executives. Finalists and winners are selected through an independent peer-adjudicated process led by prior ORBIE recipients based on the following criteria:

• Leadership and management effectiveness
• Business value created by technology innovation
• Engagement in industry and community endeavors
  

Tennessee ORBIE Keynote & Attendance:

The keynote address for the Tennessee ORBIE Awards was delivered by J. Tod Fetherling, Author & Speaker, who was interviewed by Andy Flatt, SVP & CIO of National HealthCare Corporation. Over 400 guests attended, representing leading Tennessee organizations and their technology partners.

The following sponsors made the 2025 Tennessee ORBIE Awards possible:

• Underwriters: Fortinet, Google Cloud, Kanini, Trinetix, & Wavicle Data Solutions
• Gold Sponsors: Cisco Systems, MorganFranklin Consulting, & Nutanix
• Silver Sponsors: AHEAD, Alida Inc, EMIDS, Glean, Palo Alto Networks, PwC, Slalom, T-Mobile, Tanium, Tata Consultancy Services, VACO, & Zimperium
• Bronze Sponsors: Between Pixels, C Spire Business, Dell Technologies, Deloitte, HCL Tech, Insight, MentorMate, NuHarbor Security, ServiceNow, SonicWall, Tech Mahindra, Winslow Technology Group
• Media Partner: Nashville Business Journal
  

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities and how to connect with leading C-suite executives across North America, click here.

About TennesseeCIO:

TennesseeCIO is the preeminent peer leadership network of chief information officers (CIOs) in Tennessee. As one of over 40 chapters of the Inspire Leadership Network, TennesseeCIO belongs to a national membership organization exclusively comprised of C-suite leaders from public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and nonprofit institutions.

TennesseeCIO is led by a CIO Advisory Board, with support from an executive director and staff. Underwriter executives support the chapter and ensure the programs remain non-commercial and exclusive to qualified CIOs and members.

About Inspire Leadership Network:

Inspire Leadership Network is the preeminent peer leadership network of C-suite executives. With nearly 2,000 members across more than 40 local chapters, Inspire members serve public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and non-profit institutions. Inspire exists to help leaders thrive in today’s most challenging executive roles.

Media Contact

Nicole Lammes

nicole.lammes@inspirecxo.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6b746e2f-7a39-4171-8719-328dd58c6d55