COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 2026 Ohio CIO ORBIE Awards honored leading chief information officers (CIOs) from Cincinnati Bell, Vantive, Scotts Miracle Gro, CBIZ, Health Carousel, and Home City Ice for their exceptional leadership. Hosted by CentralOhioCIO and NEOhioCIO, two 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 Central and Northeast Ohio. The morning honored excellence in technology leadership across six award categories at The Renaissance Downtown Columbus.
“More than ever before, winning in business means winning with technology. Today’s CIOs not only have a seat at the table, they have a direct effect on what conversations are possible. It is appropriate we pause and recognize those CIOs who are making the biggest impact. The ORBIE Awards serve that purpose.” said Liam Durbin, CentralOhioCIO Chair.
“The ORBIE Awards recognize CIOs driving meaningful impact through leadership excellence. Finalists and winners highlight the business value of technology initiatives shaping and transforming Ohio’s economy,” said John Fleischer, NEOhioCIO Chair.
Meet the 2026 Ohio CIO ORBIE Award Winners:
Ted Torbeck, President & CEO (ret), Cincinnati Bell, received the Leadership ORBIE.
Annlea Rumfola, EVP & CIO, Vantive, received the Global ORBIE for organizations over $4 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations.
Emily Wahl, VP, Information Technology, Scotts Miracle Gro, received the Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $3 billion annual revenue.
John Fleischer, SVP & CIO, CBIZ, received the Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $1.2 billion annual revenue.
Zack Storer, CTO, Health Carousel, received the Large Corporate ORBIE for organizations over $600 million annual revenue.
Chris Hickok, CIO (fmr), Home City Ice, received the Corporate ORBIE for organizations up to $600 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
Ohio ORBIE Keynote & Attendance:
The keynote address for the Ohio CIO ORBIE Awards was delivered by Ted Torbeck, President & CEO (ret), Cincinnati Bell, who was interviewed by Jim Fowler, Chief Technology and Product Officer, Lumen. Nearly 350 guests attended, representing leading Central and Northeast Ohio organizations and their technology partners.
The following partners made the 2026 Ohio CIO ORBIE Awards possible:
- Underwriters: Brooksource, Callibrity, Slalom Consulting, Vaco, Wavicle Data Solutions, Deloitte, Google Cloud, Palo Alto Networks, & Rimini Street
- Gold Partners: Fortinet
- Silver Partners: Cloudflare, Genesys, Guidewire Software, iVision, Tata Consultancy Services, & Tiger Analytics
- Bronze Partners: Advizex, Between Pixels, Box, Equinix, Nexigen, Nutanix, Salesforce, & T-Mobile
- 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 CentralOhioCIO & NEOhioCIO:
CentralOhioCIO and NEOhioCIO are the preeminent peer leadership networks of chief information officers (CIOs) in Central and Northeast Ohio. As two of over 50 chapters of the Inspire Leadership Network, CentralOhioCIO and NEOhioCIO belong to a national membership organization exclusively comprised of C-suite leaders from public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and nonprofit institutions.
CentralOhioCIO and NEOhioCIO are 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 more than 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/5aba027d-8cb3-45b5-b7e5-84f96f7e5754
