Their importance in modern companies can hardly be overestimated: The roles of Chief Information Officers (CIOs). To honor their work, innovative strength, and digitization efforts, the CIO Young Talent Award and the CIO Executive Award are awarded annually. With these awards, the CIO Foundation and CIO Magazine honor and promote the most outstanding talents as well as established executives in the IT industry. The respective winners of the CIO Executive Award will receive a partial scholarship for the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA program, the winner of the CIO Young Talent Award is rewarded with a MBA scholarship at WHU in Düsseldorf.
This time, Axel Schell from the insurance company Allianz was named “CIO of the year” in the large companies category. In the medium-sized company category, Tobias Lange from the industrial sealing technology company EagleBurgmann was the award winner. Thomas Henkel of Einkaufsbüro Deutscher Eisenwarenhändler (EDE), alumnus of the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA Program, came in second in the medium-sized company category. Finally, Jens Schulze and Michael von Wagner from Frankfurt University Hospital won in the Public Sector category. Philipp Lauber, student in the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA program, won the CIO Executive Award. Applying for the CIO Executive Award requires at least 15 years of postgraduate work experience and five years of proven leadership experience.
This year's CIO Young Talent Award went to Darya Novik. She works for medical technology equipment supplier Siemens Healthineers, where she is a business analyst for cloud services. As a young IT talent, she is rewarded with a MBA scholarship.
Following the CIO Young Talent Award in 2011, the CIO Foundation created the CIO Executive Award in 2016 as a further funding instrument for a more experienced target group. The scholarships are provided by the CIO Foundation and its sponsors, and partners.
In addition to the CIO Young Talent Award, one program also celebrated a milestone anniversary this year: the CIO Leadership Excellence Program turned ten as well. Together with WHU, CIO magazine tailored this seminar specifically to IT managers and their requirements. The CIO Leadership Excellence Program comprises the "General Management" seminar at WHU and the "Intercultural Management" workshop in India or China.
Listen to experiences and congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the CIO Leadership Excellence Program here (in German).