By Juliet Umeh
For encouraging technological innovation in different sectors of the economy, the Chief Information Officer, CIO, Awards recently honored outstanding men and women who work behind the scenes to advance technology in their companies.
The award winners, said to have distinguished themselves by deepening the use of technology in their various organizations, were selected by a jury of technology experts chaired by Access Bank Director of Information Technology and Operations, Ade Bajomo. .
Some of the CIO award winners include Stanbic IBTC’s Okechukwu Iroegbu, GTBank’s Sina Ayegbusi, and Wema Bank’s Richard Amanfonye, all in the banking category.
In the Fintech category, Paystack’s Ezra Olubi, Kuda’s Musty Mustpha and Appzone’s Wale Onawunki also emerged as CIO of the year.
Others include AIICO Insurance’s Olusanjo Shodimu, Federal Inland Revenue’s Kola Okunola, Guinness Nigeria’s Olugbenga Senbore, and Nigerian Bottling Company’s Obinna Ukonu. Dr. Omobola Johnson, former Minister of Communications, was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Edniesal Consulting CEO and Awards Organizing Director, Ms. Abiola Oleseinde, said CIOs have, over time, been responsible for delivering top-of-the-line business value and innovation within their organizations, while at the same time be at the forefront of decision making. and strategic change.
These classes of business leaders, he said, are hardly visible or celebrated in most organizations, adding that their role, over time, has grown in importance as they evolve from information to innovation and lead transformation initiatives. digital.
She said: “Therefore, Edniesal’s commitment is to recognize individual and business excellence in innovation and technology in different sectors. In fact, it is celebrating the talented people and teams behind the business transformations in different sectors in Nigeria. “
Explaining how the finalists were selected, Oleseinde said that the calls for the different award categories were open from August 4, 2020 to September 30, 2020.
She explains: “Subsequently, the shortlisted nominees were reviewed and evaluated by an independent jury team. The jurors are carefully selected leaders in all sectors with experience in their respective fields. Nominee entries were reviewed based on business innovation and outstanding leadership. Special consideration for nominees who are leveraging cutting edge IT practices to produce measurable results, ”he added.
Meanwhile, the president of the jury, Mr. Ade Bajomo, said that the jury examined more than 200 CIO entries in the country with special attention to their achievements and project delivery. He said entries were scored based on specific criteria that led to the appearance of the winners.
