17th Annual GNTC Awards

The 17th Annual Awards will be held February 19, 2026, 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 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 recognizes the top Chief Information Officer in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. 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 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 a data analyst, data scientist, or business intelligence professional in the Middle Tennessee region as identified through open nominations. Nominees must have demonstrated measurable impact on innovation in their business through the use of data analytics, data science, artificial intelligence, or machine learning. They should also be viewed as subject matter experts in their own organization. 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.

This award recognizes the top Emerging Leader in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations of current or alumni members of the NTC ELITE program. The Emerging Leader of the Year award is presented to an individual who demonstrates excellence in delivering business results through others. Nominees should have demonstrated success in developing leadership skills and self-awareness to make a difference in the performance of their team. They should also be seen as leaders in their own IT organization and in the community. Leadership engagement in user groups and local technology events is a plus. Nominees must currently reside in Middle Tennessee and are a present or past cohort member of the NTC ELITE program. Nominees will be judged on business results and employee development.

The Information Security Guru of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding individual or lead in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations who has made significant contributions to safeguarding data, systems, and networks, and has consistently exhibited excellence in protecting organizations from evolving cyber threats. Nominees have demonstrated exceptional expertise in information security including but not limited to proactive threat mitigation, innovation in security measures, successful security audits and compliance efforts, and significant contributions to enhancing an organization’s security posture and resilience.

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.

The Senior Tech Sales Exec of the Year recognizes an outstanding individual or lead in the technology industry in Middle Tennessee as identified through open nominations. This award recognizes senior sales executives leaders who have demonstrated outstanding strategic vision in driving sales growth and revenue generation. The recipient of this award is celebrated for their exceptional ability to build and maintain strong client relationships, their profound understanding of market trends, their management of successful sales teams, and their track record of consistently surpassing sales targets. Their contributions and accomplishments have made a significant impact on their company’s success and have set a benchmark for excellence in the tech sales domain.

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 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 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 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. 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 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.

2025 – 2026
Awards Timeline

Nominations Open: 9/23/25

Nominations Close: 10/1/25

Nominees contacted with instructions on application: 10/3/25

Applications due: 10/18/25

GNTC Holiday Party/Finalists Announced: 12/11/25

Finalists Happy Hour: January 2026

Winners announced at the GNTC Awards: 2/19/26

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Visit: ntcawards.com