COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The 2026 OhioCISO ORBIE Awards honored leading chief information security officers (CISOs) from Cleveland Clinic, The Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, altafiber, Miami University & United Airlines for their exceptional leadership. Hosted by OhioCISO, a chapter of the Inspire Leadership Network, the prestigious awards honor CISOs who drive business transformation and industry impact.
Held at The Renaissance Downtown Columbus, the ceremony brought together top executives and industry leaders to honor excellence in security leadership across six award categories.
“Behind every successful cybersecurity strategy is a CISO leading the vision,” said Mark Tomallo, OhioCISO Chair. “The ORBIE Awards are the ultimate recognition program for the leaders behind the work.”
Meet the 2026 OhioCISO ORBIE Award Winners:
Deneen DeFiore, VP & CISO, United Airlines, received the Leadership ORBIE.
Rakesh Sharma, VP & CISO, Cleveland Clinic, received the Global ORBIE for organizations over $1 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations.
Richard Nagle, AVP & CISO, The Ohio State University, received the Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $8 billion annual revenue.
Katrina Biscay, CISO, University of Cincinnati, received the Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $3 billion annual revenue.
Shawn McMillian, Chief Security Officer, altafiber, received the Large Corporate ORBIE for organizations over $1 billion annual revenue.
John Virden, AVP, CISO, Miami University, received the Corporate ORBIE for organizations up to $1 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 protection created by enterprise security
- Engagement in industry and community endeavors
OhioCISO ORBIE Keynote & Attendance:
The keynote address for the OhioCISO ORBIE Awards was delivered by Deneen DeFiore, VP & CISO, United Airlines, who was interviewed by Rachel Bush, VP Information Risk Governance & Deputy CISO, Nationwide. Over 165 guests attended, representing leading Ohio organizations and their technology partners.
The following partners made the 2026 OhioCISO ORBIE Awards possible:
- Silver Partners: Abnormal Security, AHEAD, BigID, ivision, Optiv, SentinelOne, Trace3 & Wiz
- Bronze Partners: Between Pixels, Cisco, Clark Schaefer Hackett, Harness, Logicalis, ServiceNow & SHI
- Media Partner: Columbus Business First
To learn more about partnership opportunities and how to connect with leading C-suite executives across North America, click here.
About OhioCISO:
OhioCISO is the preeminent peer leadership network of chief information security officers (CISOs) in Ohio. As one of over 40 chapters of the Inspire Leadership Network, OhioCISO belongs to a national membership organization exclusively comprised of C-suite leaders from public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and nonprofit institutions.
OhioCISO is led by a 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 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 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
[email protected]
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/07471ee2-803a-457f-9218-25528b68a48c
