18th Annual GNTC Awards

The 18th Annual Awards will be held February 25, 2027, at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. This event is dedicated to connecting, uniting, developing and promoting Middle Tennessee’s rich community of developers and technology entrepreneurs, enthusiasts and institutions with awards in 15 categories. We accept nominations to recognize outstanding do-ers, movers and shakers. The GNTC is committed to celebrating the innovation, leadership, and technical expertise across our entire tech community. The winners will be announced live at the awards ceremony.

Awards Nomination and Selection Process

Nominations are open to the public and eligible nominees will be asked to provide detailed responses to questions in each award category. The GNTC staff and volunteers will coordinate a pool of judges from across the Middle Tennessee tech community to evaluate the nominees’ responses. Whether a nominee is eligible for an award category and the tabulation of judges scores will be independently audited. The top three nominees in each award category will be announced in December at the Annual GNTC Holiday Party and winners will be announced live at the GNTC Awards Ceremony in February.

Click the category titles below for descriptions of each award. 

This award recognizes the top Chief Information Officer in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. Small/mid-size companies are defined as organizations with less than $500 million in annual revenue. Nominees must have demonstrated leadership, driven innovation, and delivered value to the organization. Nominees must be leaders in their own IT organization and have made a difference for an organization based in or with a significant presence in Middle Tennessee. Commitment to the technology community is also an important aspect of this award. Nominees must currently be a CIO or the most senior IT professional in the organization and reside in Middle Tennessee.

This award recognizes the top Chief Information Officer in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. Large enterprise companies are defined as organizations with more than $500 million in annual revenue. Nominees must have demonstrated leadership, driven innovation, and delivered value to the organization. Nominees must be leaders in their own IT organization and have made a difference for an organization based in or with a significant presence in Middle Tennessee. Commitment to the technology community is also an important aspect of this award. Nominees must currently be a CIO or the most senior IT professional in the organization and reside in Middle Tennessee.

This award recognizes the top Chief Data Officer in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. Nominees must have demonstrated leadership, driven innovation, and delivered value to the organization through the use of data analytics, data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Nominees must be data leaders in their own organization and have made a difference for an organization based in or with a significant presence in Middle Tennessee. Commitment to the technology community is also an important aspect of this award. Nominees must currently be a Chief Data Officer or the most senior data professional in the organization and reside in Middle Tennessee. Nominations are open and finalists will be judged by a panel of independent judges.

This award is presented to the top senior information security professional in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. Nominees must have demonstrated leadership in their field, enhancing and safeguarding their organizations’ data and technology resources, created a security-conscious culture, and delivered value to the organization. Nominees must be leaders in their organization and have made a difference that positively impacts Middle Tennessee. Commitment to the technology community is also an important aspect of this award. Nominees must currently reside in Middle Tennessee.

This award recognizes the top Chief Technology Officer in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. Nominees must be leaders in their own IT organization and have made a difference for an organization based in or with a significant presence in Middle Tennessee. Commitment to the technology community is also an important aspect of this award. Nominees must currently be a CTO or the most senior equivalent IT professional in the organization and reside in Middle Tennessee.

This award is presented to an individual who contributes to the technology community of Middle Tennessee through involvement, leadership and excellence in giving back, as identified through open nominations. Nominees will be judged on tech community involvement, advocacy, and impact. Examples include but are not limited to: leading diversity and inclusion efforts in the community or in an organization; raising awareness of the need for diversity and inclusion in tech; volunteering in the tech community, including K-12 or higher education tech programs; leading, supporting, or growing tech community groups or programs, such as tech user groups or tech professional mentoring programs; supporting efforts to expand, diversify, or improve the available technology workforce through training, mentorship, or otherwise supporting tech professionals; and/or supporting non-profit, government or education through donating needed technology, and/or time and talent. Nominees must currently reside in Middle Tennessee.

This award is presented to an artificial intelligence professional in the Middle Tennessee region, including AI/ML engineers, data scientists, data analysts, and business intelligence professionals, as identified through open nominations. Nominees must have demonstrated measurable impact on innovation in their business through the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative AI, data science, or data analytics. They should also be viewed as subject matter experts in their own organization and as leaders in the responsible and effective adoption of AI. Involvement in user groups, participation in hackathons or competitions, and furthering the development of the region’s technology community is a plus. Nominees must currently reside in Middle Tennessee. Nominations are open and finalists will be judged by a panel of independent judges.

This award recognizes the top tech start-up that builds and sells technology in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. Nominees demonstrate innovative and groundbreaking technology, showcasing their potential to disrupt the industry it operates in,have a founder actively working in the business, and have annual revenues of no more than $1,000,000 (not including investment). Nominees are recognized for their vision, culture, execution abilities, and the value they provide to their end customers. Nominations are open and finalists will be judged by a panel of independent judges.

This award recognizes the top Project Managers, Product Manager, or Team Leader in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. Nominees will exemplify excellence in project management or managing a team through visionary leadership, successful project execution, adept problem-solving and adaptability, exemplary stakeholder management, innovative practices, significant project impact, and a commitment to continuous professional development and contributions to the project management community. This person knows how to get stuff done and navigates their team to executing tasks and achieving their goals. Nominees must be a Project Manager or lead in their company and reside in Middle Tennessee.

This award is presented to the top software engineer in the Middle Tennessee region as identified through open nominations. Nominees showcased exceptional expertise in various programming languages, software development methodologies, security, and system architecture design. Their work has resulted in the creation of innovative and scalable solutions that have significantly impacted their organization and addressed complex technical challenges.

This award recognizes the technology team initiative for their outstanding efforts to make positive social impact in Middle Tennessee. Nominees will be judged based on the tangible and measurable ways they have improved lives and addressed pressing societal challenges. Emphasis will be placed on the inclusivity, equity, and accessibility of the initiative. Furthermore, the scalability and sustainability of their projects will be evaluated, recognizing those with potential for long-term positive change on a larger scale.

This award recognizes the most innovative technology initiative in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. This award is presented to the team that has produced the technology-based product, service or process that significantly enhances customer experience, business profitability or efficiency, or industry impact. The Nominees must currently reside in Middle Tennessee.

This award is presented to an outstanding educator in Middle Tennessee who has exhibited exceptional dedication to and innovation in the advancement of technology education, as identified through open nominations. Nominees will be judged on the innovation of their tech education curriculum or program, the accessibility of the program to a broad and diverse base of students, and the impact of the program on the students, school, and community. Only educators or academic directors and administrators working in Middle Tennessee at accredited institutions are eligible for this Award.

This award is a celebration of an organization that builds and sells technology in Middle Tennessee that contributes to the overall growth of our region’s tech industry. Large enterprise is defined as annual revenue exceeding $500 million. Nominees, from the top leadership down to every team member, demonstrate a genuine dedication to cultivating a positive and inclusive work culture that sets an inspiring example for the entire tech industry. Nominees are recognized for their outstanding achievements, innovation, and the value they provide to their end customers.

This award is a celebration of an organization that builds and sells technology in Middle Tennessee that contributes to the overall growth of our region’s tech industry. Small/mid market is defined as annual revenue less than $500 million. Nominees, from the top leadership down to every team member, demonstrate a genuine dedication to cultivating a positive and inclusive work culture that sets an inspiring example for the entire tech industry. Nominees are recognized for their outstanding achievements, innovation, and the value they provide to their end customers.

2026 – 2027
Awards Timeline

Nominations Open: 9/30/26

Nominations Close: 10/9/26

Nominees contacted with instructions on application: 10/13/26

Applications due: 10/23/26

GNTC Holiday Party/Finalists Announced: 12/10/26

Finalists Happy Hour: January 2027

Winners announced at the GNTC Awards: 2/25/27