MINNEAPOLIS, July 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The 2026 Minnesota ORBIE Awards honored leading chief information officers (CIOs) and chief information security officers (CISOs) from Minnesota Twins, Medtronic, Sanford Health, Cirrus Aircraft, City of Saint Paul, Data Recognition Corporation, Transamerica and Medica for their exceptional leadership. Hosted by MinnesotaCIO and MinnesotaCISO, two of over 50 Inspire Leadership Network chapters, the prestigious award honors CIOs and CISOs who drive business transformation and industry impact.
This exclusive event brought together top executives and industry leaders from Minnesota. The morning honored excellence in technology leadership across eight award categories at Marriott Minneapolis City Center.
“Behind every successful technology and security strategy is a CIO or CISO leading the vision,” said Tony Peleska, MinnesotaCIO Chair. “The ORBIE® Awards is the ultimate recognition program for the leaders behind the work.”
“The ORBIE Awards recognize CIOs and CISOs who drive meaningful impact through leadership excellence. Finalists and winners highlight the business value of technology and security initiatives transforming Minnesota’s economy,” said MinnesotaCISO Chair, Tony Taylor.
Meet the 2026 Minnesota ORBIE Award Winners:
- John Avenson, SVP & Chief Technology Officer, Minnesota Twins, received the Leadership ORBIE.
- Rashmi Kumar, SVP & CIO, Medtronic, received the Global ORBIE for organizations over $6 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations.
- Brad Reimer, CIO, Sanford Health, received the Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $4 billion annual revenue.
- Robin Brown, SVP, IT, Cirrus Aircraft, received the Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $1 billion annual revenue.
- Jaime Wascalus, CIO & Director of the Office of Technology & Communications, City of Saint Paul, received the Large Corporate ORBIE for organizations over $550 million annual revenue.
- Trevor Farnum, CTO, Data Recognition Corporation, received the Corporate ORBIE for organizations up to $550 million annual revenue.
- Steve Jensen, Global CISO, Transamerica, received the CISO Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $9 billion annual revenue.
- Brad Abbott, CISO, Medica, received the CISO Enterprise ORBIE for organizations up to $9 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 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 and enterprise security
- Engagement in industry and community endeavors
Minnesota ORBIE Keynote & Attendance:
The keynote address for the Minnesota ORBIE Awards was delivered by John Avenson, SVP & Chief Technology Officer, Minnesota Twins, who was interviewed by Rahoul Ghose, CIO, ECMC Group. Over 500 guests attended, representing leading Minnesota organizations and their technology partners.
The following partners made the 2026 Minnesota ORBIE Awards possible:
- Underwriters: Comcast Business, Concord, Google Cloud, TriCom, YASH Technologies & Okta
- Gold Partners: Elisity, Enterprise Visions, Fortinet & Wipro
- Silver Partners: AHEAD, Authority Partners, Cato Networks, Cloudflare, Evolving Solutions, Palo Alto Networks, Persistent Systems & SentinelOne
- Bronze Partners: Abnormal AI, Cognizant, Crowdstrike, Deloitte, Experis, EY, Naviant & Versique
- Media Partner: Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
- Nonprofit Partner: Genesys Works
To learn more about partnership opportunities and how to connect with leading C-suite executives across North America, click here.
About MinnesotaCIO & MinnesotaCISO:
MinnesotaCIO and MinnesotaCISO are the preeminent peer leadership networks of chief information officers (CIOs) and chief information security officers (CISOs) in Minnesota. As two of over 50 chapters of the Inspire Leadership Network, MinnesotaCIO and MinnesotaCISO belong to a national membership organization exclusively comprised of C-suite leaders from public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and nonprofit institutions.
MinnesotaCIO and MinnesotaCISO are led by a CIO and CISO 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, CISOs, 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/6f3d6366-173f-4235-9bda-1923b6edf1df
