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2026 CISO of the Year Program Overview

The Chicago CISO of the Year Committee and the Chicago Chapters of AITP, ChicagoFIRST, InfraGard, ISSA, ISACA, CSA, PAABC, WiCyS and SIM invite you to submit exceptional cybersecurity leaders for the 2026 Chicago Area CISO of the Year Award.

BACKGROUND

The current business climate has seen an unprecedented number of cybersecurity related headlines. Hackers to Nation State actors have been shown to be constantly probing Organizations defenses with the intent to break in, disrupt operations, monetize information, and steal intellectual property. Between these threats and the increasing regulatory climate, never has the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) been asked to navigate more difficult terrain.

Originally patterned after the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Year Award sponsored by the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP Chicago), SIM-Chicago and the Executive Club of Chicago, this program seeks to recognize outstanding CISOs for the contributions they make to their organizations, the Information Security profession and the local community. The award process is overseen by the Chicago CISO of the Year Program, which is a not-for-profit affiliated with AITP Chicago and managed by local area security leader volunteers.

AWARDS OVERVIEW:

Starting in 2022 two different awards will be presented – “ENTERPRISE” for CISOs from organizations with more than $4B USD in revenue and “MID-CAP” for those from organizations with less than $4B in revenue. If a CISO does not have company-wide responsibilities, the combined revenue of the business units under their remit will be used to determine the award for which they’ll be considered. 

Starting 2026, we are adding two new exciting awards to the program:

- "CISO+" Award celebrates a CISO who has a significant expanded role beyond that, such as physical security or business continuity; other business impact areas like operations, marketing, sales, product development; or CIO, CEO or other additional executive roles.

- The "CISO Community" Award recognizes an exceptional cybersecurity leader for their significant contributions to the security community. Beyond organizational success, this individual demonstrates a commitment to advancing the profession through collaboration, thought leadership, mentorship, and active engagement in strengthening the broader cybersecurity landscape.

PROCESS SUMMARY:

Nomination is an open process that can be initiated by anyone with direct experience working with the nominee. Submitted nominations are reviewed to ensure that the nominee meets the requirements laid out in the Nomination Form. Nominees demonstrate their competency and achievements through a multi-staged application process that includes a detailed written questionnaire, and a series of formal and informal interviews with a panel of industry peer-level CISO judges. The program spans over five months and culminates with a final interview and selection process completed by a panel of local area CEOs. The CISO of the Year winner is announced at an Awards Ceremony held in October of the same year.

NOMINEE EVALUATION PROCESS:

1. Nominees are submitted to the program by the community.
2. Anyone who has a direct working relationship with a CISO can nominate that individual for the CISO of the Year Program.
3. Participation in the program requires the explicit agreement from the nominee.
4. Nominee fills out a multi-page application covering multiple topic areas relevant to the Information Security profession and community.
5. Each nominee will be assigned at least two judges to conduct a 60-90 minute interview. These interviews are strongly preferred, but not required, to be in person.
6. Judges evaluate both the written and verbal submissions as compared to other nominees.
7. Scores of all nominees will be evaluated, discussed, and calibrated by the Judges Committee (JC). The JC consists of all volunteer CISO peer group judges.
8. The Head of the Judges Committee (HJC) will facilitate the calibration sessions with a focus being on the four nominees with the highest scores.
9. The HJC does not submit scores for any nominees.
10. If two nominees have the same score, the tiebreaker is decided by the HJC and is determined by the nominee’s participation in the program (quantity and engagement level).
11. The two nominees with the top scores in each category will advance to the CEO evaluation round where the winner is selected.
12. CEOs will interview the two finalists in each category and select the winner.
13. Tie-Breaker Rule: If the CEOs deadlock, the finalist with the highest score wins. If both finalists have the same score, the HJC will select the winner.

NOMINATION REQUIREMENTS:

1. Individual submitting nomination has direct experience working with Nominee.
2. Goods or services have not been exchanged or promised for nomination.
3. Nominations must be submitted to nominations@ChicagoCISOoftheYear.com no later than July 30th.

NOMINEE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Nominee leads the Information Security program for the organization (CISO or equivalent).
2. Nominee has been in role for a minimum of 12 months at the time of nomination.
3. Nominee remains active in role until the end of September of the Award year.
4. Nominee's organization is based out of or has a significant office presence in the Chicago Area.
5. Nominee's primary work location is in the Chicago area.

Critical Dates:

Dates
February, 2026	Program launch announcement and opening of nominations
Tuesday, May 19, 2026 5:00pm – 8:00pm	First Mixer Event: Smith and Wollensky, 318 N. State Street, Chicago, IL  60654
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 5:00pm – 8:00pm	Second Mixer Event: Gibsons Rosemont, 5464 North River Road, Rosemont, IL
Friday, July 30, 2026	Final day for nominations to be submitted
Tuesday, July 21, 2026 5:00pm – 8:00pm	Third Mixer Event: TBD
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 5:00pm – 8:00pm	Fourth Mixer Event: The Metropolitan Club of Chicago, 233 S, Wacker Drive, Floor 67Chicago, IL
Tuesday, October 13, 2026	Award Ceremony ; The Metropolitan Club of Chicago, 233 S, Wacker Drive, Floor 67Chicago, IL. Oak Room

FOR OUR SPONSORS:

It's a pleasure to offer out sponsors the best opportunity to meet Chicago area Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and Senior Information Security Practitioners in multiple settings!  You will meet many of the same CISOs multiple times throughout the course of the 6-month Chicago CISO of the Year Program.  As we all know, relationships build success.  The program is designed for our Sponsors to be able to communicate with CISO’s in great settings and as a way for CISOs to meet their Peers to grow their careers and network.

There are 5 events that make up the program sponsor year.  We have averaged about 100 people per event.  Significantly more people attend the last events in the program. We are limiting the number of sponsor participation to 12 for 2026.  As the year progresses we will be adding a couple more events like baseball games and/or round-tables. 

Please Thank Our 2026 Program Sponsors:     

                                    

                                 

                                

                           

                          

 For detailed information on sponsor opportunities, contact:

Wayne Johnson (Founder and Sponsors Contact), wayne.johnson@chicagocisooftheyear.com

PRIOR CISO OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS:

2025  -  ENTERPRISE, Shefali Mookercherry, CISO, University of Illinois Chicago

2025  -   MID-CAP,  Nitin Raina, ISO, Thoughtworks

2024  -  ENTERPRISE, Dan Manley, CISO, CME Group

2024  - MID-CAP, Angela Williams, CISO, UL

2023  -  ENTERPRISE, Darin Hurd, CISO, Guaranteed Rate

2023  - MID-CAP, Neil Witek, CISO, Oak Street Health

2022  -  ENTERPISE, Mahmood Khan, SVP & CISO, CNA Insurance

2022 -  MID-CAP, Walter Lefmann, Director of Security, Chicago Trading Corporation

2021 -   Ricardo Lafosse, CISO, Kraft Heinz

2020 – Paige Adams, Global CISO, Zurich Insurance

2019 – Jill Rhodes, CISO, Option Care

2018 – Bradley Schaufenbuel, CISO & VP, Paylocity

2017 – Erik Decker, Chief Security & Privacy Officer, University of Chicago Medicine

2016 – Todd Fitzgerald, CISO, Grant Thornton International Ltd.

2015 – Kevin Novak, CISO and Technology Risk Officer, Northern Trust Bank

2014 – Arlan McMillan, CISO, Department of Innovation and Technology, City of Chicago

2013 – Jason Witty, CISO & SVP, US Bank

PRIOR EXECUTIVE JUDGES:

2023  - ENTERPRISE, Matt Coughlin, CEO, XSELL Technologies; Rushil Desai, CEO Aetna Better Health of Illinois; Stu Hansen, CEO, Avaneer Health, and Bob McGonigle, CEO, Martin Brower

2022  - ENTERPRISE, Pat Blandford, Founder, CEO, Green Shield Risk Solutions & Tom Monahan, CEO, DeVry University

2022 - MID-CAP, Wells Hutchinson, CEO, Dental Delta Plans Assoc. & Tom Monahan, CEO, DeVry University

2021 – Bradley Alter, CEO, Certified Health Management and Sunil Cutinho, President, CME Clearing

2020 – Bob McGonigle, CEO, Martin Brower and Michael O'Grady, CEO, Northern Trust

2019 – Doug Kofoid, CEO, DialogTech and Tony Lorenz, CEO, PRA and Jo Ann Rooney, Pres., Loyola Univ.

2018 – Sharon O'Keefe, President, UCMC and John Walden, CEO, FTD

2017 – Anders Gustafsson, CEO, Zebra Technologies and Tom Richards, Executive Chairman, CDW

2016 – David Nelms, Discover Financial and Steve Lieber, CEO, HIMSS

2015 – Artur Fridberg, CEO, eboundhost and Dan Yunker, CEO, MCHC/LLH

2014 – Deborah Gage, CEO, Medecision and Rick Waddell, CEO, Northern Trust

2013 – none

NOMINATION COMMITTEE
Wayne Johnson, Founder	wayne.johnson@ChicagoCISOoftheYear.com
Arlan McMillan, Head of Judges Committee and Co-Chair	arlan.mcmillan@ChicagoCISOoftheYear.com
Sally Martin, Head of Operations and Co-Chair	sally.martin@ChicagoCISOoftheYear.com

On behalf of the Program Committee, prior winners, nominees, partners, sponsors and the CISOs of the Chicago region, thank you for your participation in the Program.

Wayne Johnson, Founder

FOR OUR PARTNERS:

We have a tremendous group of partners in Infragard, AITP, ISSA, SIM, ISACA, WiSys and ChicagoFirst. 

Thank you to everyone who makes this program and the Chicago CISO community great!  We look forward to another good year.About the Program Partners

AITP Chicago     
www.aitpchicago.com

It is the mission of AITP Chicago to provide superior leadership and education in Information Technology.  AITP is dedicated to using synergy of Information Technology partnerships to provide education and benefits to our members and to working with the industry to assist in overall promotion and direction of Information Technology.

Information Systems Security Association (ISSA)     
https://issa-chicago.org/

The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) is a not-for-profit, international organization of information security professionals and practitioners. It provides educational forums, publications, and peer interaction opportunities that enhance the knowledge, skill, and professional growth of its members.

InfraGard     
https://chicagoinfragard.org/

InfraGard is a partnership between the FBI and members of the private sector. The InfraGard program provides a vehicle for seamless public-private collaboration with government that expedites the timely exchange of information and promotes mutual learning opportunities relevant to the protection of Critical Infrastructure. 

ISACA Chicago

https://engage.isaca.org/chicagochapter/home

As an independent, nonprofit, global association, ISACA engages in the development, adoption and use of globally accepted, industry-leading knowledge and practices for information systems. Previously known as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, ISACA now goes by its acronym only, to reflect the broad range of IT governance professionals it serves.

Society of Information Managers (SIM)     
https://www.sim-chicago.org/

SIM brings together IT leaders to share, network and give back to their communities through the collaboration of local chapters.   SIM Chicago provides a unique opportunity to interact with thought leaders throughout the technology and business fields. 

WiCyS

https://www.wicys.org/wicys-chicago-affiliate/

Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with global reach dedicated to bringing together women in cybersecurity from academia, research and industry to share knowledge, experience, networking and mentoring.  The WiCyS Chicago Affiliate is Chicago CISO of the Year's newest partner, and we look forward to working together to raise awareness, opportunity and inclusion for women in (or aspiring to) the CISO role.

ChicagoFIRST     
www.chicagofirst.org

ChicagoFIRST is a nonprofit association that provides critical firms a collaborative forum to address private sector resilience and emergency management planning and response with relevant local, regional, and national public sector agencies. We look forward to collaborating with ChicagoFIRST  in the years to come.

Pan Asian American Business Council

https://paabc.org/

The mission of the Pan Asian American Business Council (“PAABC”) is to enable and foster the development and growth of Asian American owned businesses

Cloud Security Alliance - Chicago Chapter

https://circle.cloudsecurityalliance.org/chicago/home

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. 

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