BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 2026 Alabama ORBIE Awards honored leading chief information officers (CIOs) from SCA Health, Motion Industries, Diversified Energy, City of Birmingham and Harbert Management Corporation for their exceptional leadership. Hosted by AlabamaCIO, one of over 50 Inspire Leadership Network chapters, the prestigious award honors CIOs who drive business transformation and industry impact.
This exclusive event brought together top executives and industry leaders from Alabama. The morning honored excellence in technology leadership across five award categories at Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge.
“CIOs play a critical role in shaping strategy and driving innovation across their organizations,” said April Sargent, AlabamaCIO Chair. “The ORBIE Awards recognize the leaders whose impact extends far beyond technology.”
Meet the 2026 Alabama ORBIE Award Winners:
Anthony Williams, SVP & Chief Information Officer, SCA Health, received the Leadership ORBIE.
Kevin Stone, SVP, Technology & Procurement, Motion Industries received the Global ORBIE for organizations over $1 billion in annual revenue and multi-national operations.
David Myers, EVP & CIO, Diversified Energy received the Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $1.5 billion in annual revenue.
Darryl Burroughs, CIO, City of Birmingham received the Large Corporate ORBIE for organizations over $500 million in annual revenue.
Andrew Ryan, CIO, Harbert Management Corporation received the Corporate ORBIE for organizations up to $300 million in 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 leaders. 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
Alabama ORBIE Keynote & Attendance:
The keynote address for the Alabama ORBIE Awards was delivered by Anthony Williams, SVP & Chief Information Officer, SCA Health, who was interviewed by Rusty Yeager, SVP & CIO, Encompass Health. Over 250 guests attended, representing leading Alabama organizations and their technology partners.
The following partners made the 2026 Alabama ORBIE Awards possible:
- Underwriters: Fortinet, Google Cloud & Recruit
- Gold Partners: MGT & Verinext & Arctiq
- Silver Partners: Bek Networks, Cloudflare, Cognizant & PWC
- Bronze Partners: Aurum Data Solutions, Between Pixels, Birasoft Solutions, CGI, Datadog, inSpring, Infosys, iSeek Solutions, Snowflake & White Oak Solutions
- Media Partner: Birmingham Business Journal
To learn more about partnership opportunities and how to connect with leading C-suite executives across North America, click here.
About AlabamaCIO:
AlabamaCIO is the preeminent peer leadership network of chief information officers (CIOs) in Alabama. As one of over 50 chapters of the Inspire Leadership Network, AlabamaCIO belongs to a national membership organization exclusively comprised of C-suite leaders from public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and nonprofit institutions.
AlabamaCIO 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 over 2,000 members across over 50 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/506e40ea-c700-42de-a6ad-02096be440ce
