Leading CIOs and CISOs honored for leadership, innovation, and business impact at the Philadelphia ORBIE Awards on September 25, 2026 at Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The 2026 Philadelphia ORBIE Awards honored leading chief information officers (CIOs) and chief information security officers (CISOs) from CSL Behring, PTC Therapeutics, The School District of Philadelphia, Riggs Distler, OceanFirst Bank, Trinseo, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Main Line Health for their exceptional leadership. Hosted by PhillyCIO, and introducing PhillyCISO, chapters of the Inspire Leadership Network, the prestigious awards honor CIOs and CISOs who drive business transformation and industry impact. View finalists, partners, and more on the Digital ORBIE Feature.
Held at Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, the ceremony brought together top executives and industry leaders to honor excellence in technology and security leadership across eight award categories.
“Technology provides the capability, but visionary leadership drives the strategy, aligns the enterprise, and unlocks exponential growth,” said PhillyCIO Chair, Sankara Viswanathan. “The ORBIE Awards celebrate the remarkable leaders who are shaping the future, empowering their teams, and delivering true business transformation.”
“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 Philadelphia’s economy,” said Tracey Brand-Sanders, PhillyCISO Chair.
Meet the 2026 Philadelphia ORBIE Award Winners:
- Mark Hill, Chief Digital Information Officer, CSL Behring, received the Leadership ORBIE.
- Linda Montella-Carter, SVP, CIO, PTC Therapeutics, received the Global ORBIE for organizations over $1.5 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations.
- Melanie Harris, CIO, The School District of Philadelphia, received the Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $4 billion annual revenue.
- Jason McKay, CIO, Riggs Distler, received the Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $1 billion annual revenue.
- Brian Schaeffer, CIO, OceanFirst Bank, received the Corporate ORBIE for organizations up to $1 billion annual revenue.
- Tammy Klotz, CISO, Trinseo, received the CISO Global ORBIE for organizations over $3 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations.
- Monique St. John, VP & CISO, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, received the CISO Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $4 billion annual revenue.
- Aaron Weismann, CISO, Main Line Health, received the CISO Enterprise ORBIE for organizations up to $4 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
- Business protection created by enterprise security
- Engagement in industry and community endeavors
Philadelphia ORBIE Keynote & Attendance:
The keynote address for the Philadelphia ORBIE Awards was delivered Mark Hill, Chief Digital Information Officer, CSL Behring who was interviewed by Priya Serai, PhillyCIO Member. Nearly 400 guests attended, representing leading Philadelphia organizations and their technology partners.
The following partners made the 2026 Philadelphia ORBIE Awards possible:
- Underwriters: Brooksource, Deloitte, Fortinet, Lumen and Island
- Gold Partners: Comcast Business, Cyera and Elisity
- Silver Partners: Dragos, IBM, Nexturn, Nutanix, Oracle Health, Palo Alto Networks, Tanium and Tata Consultancy Services
- Bronze Partners: Crowdstrike, DarwinBox, Fiserv, Glean, Horizon3.ai and Torq, Impact Advisors, Infosys, NRI, SIA and Zscaler
- Media Partner: Philadelphia Business Journal
- Nonprofit Partner: Year Up United
To learn more about partnership opportunities and how to connect with leading C-suite executives across North America, click here.
About PhillyCIO and PhillyCISO:
PhillyCIO and PhillyCISO are the preeminent peer leadership networks of C-suite technology and security leaders in Philadelphia. As two of over 50 chapters of the Inspire Leadership Network, PhillyCIO and PhillyCISO belong to a national membership organization exclusively comprised of C-suite leaders from public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and nonprofit institutions.
PhillyCIO and PhillyCISO are led by CIO and CISO Advisory Boards, with support from an executive director and staff. Underwriter executives support the chapter and ensure the programs remain member-led 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 nearly 2,000 members across more over 50 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
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3563836b-3d95-47aa-8ccc-69ff6f5c1f9e
