WASHINGTON, June 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The 2026 CapitalCIO ORBIE Awards honored leading chief information officers (CIOs) from Marriott International, Carlyle, HII, Virginia Tech, Appian, and OrthoVirginia for their exceptional leadership. Hosted by CapitalCIO, 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 Capital Area. The morning honored excellence in technology leadership across six award categories at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner.
“Behind every technology innovation is a CIO leading the vision and shaping the strategy,” said Lisa Roger, CapitalCIO Chair. “The ORBIE Awards are the ultimate recognition program for the leaders behind the work.”
Meet the 2026 CapitalCIO ORBIE Award Winners:
- Renee Wynn, CIO (fmr), NASA received the Leadership ORBIE.
- Naveen Manga, Global CIO, Marriott International, received the Super Global ORBIE for organizations over $20 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations.
- Lucia Soares, Partner, CIO & Head of Tech Transformation, Carlyle, received the Global ORBIE for organizations over $2 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations.
- Chris Soong, EVP & CIO, HII, received the Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $3 billion annual revenue.
- Sharon Pitt, VP, IT & CIO, Virginia Tech, received the Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $1.3 billion annual revenue.
- Myles Weber, CIO, Appian, received the Large Corporate ORBIE for organizations over $645 million annual revenue.
- Terri Ripley, CIO, OrthoVirginia, received the Corporate ORBIE for organizations up to $645 million 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
CapitalCIO ORBIE Keynote & Attendance:
The keynote address for the CapitalCIO ORBIE Awards was delivered by Renee Wynn, CIO (fmr), NASA, who was interviewed by Melvin Brown II, Deputy Executive Director (fmr), U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Over 300 guests attended, representing leading Capital Area organizations and their technology partners.
The following partners made the 2026 CapitalCIO ORBIE Awards possible:
- Underwriters: Google Cloud, Island, Lumen, Moveworks, Oteemo
- Gold Partners: Comcast, Zscaler
- Silver Partners: Cloudflare, Future Tech Enterprise, Palo Alto Networks, YAS Networks
- Bronze Partners: Between Pixels, CDW, eShare, Hexaware, Lava Technology Services, Workday Government
- Media Partner: Washington Business Journal
- Nonprofit Partner: YearUp United
To learn more about partnership opportunities and how to connect with leading C-suite executives across North America, click here.
About CapitalCIO:
CapitalCIO is the preeminent peer leadership network of chief information officers (CIOs) in Capital Area. As one of over 50 chapters of the Inspire Leadership Network, CapitalCIO belongs to a national membership organization exclusively comprised of C-suite leaders from public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and nonprofit institutions.
CapitalCIO 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
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5ab8fae7-e294-470d-b409-1df047218883
