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 AWARD CATEGORIES 

A&A
ONLINE | 4.11.2026 - The leader’s initiatives have enhanced the realisation of strategic objectives, the business responsiveness, its integration capabilities, and/or the customer experience through (modernised) applications and agile architecture, while efficiently managing the required or available resources.

Applications & Architecture

Register here
C&I
ONLINE | 10.12.2026 - The leader has fundamentally improved organisational agility, resilience, and cost efficiency through strategic cloud adoption and infrastructure optimisation.

Cloud & Infrastructure

Register here
D&A
ONLINE | 20.01.2027 - The leader has transformed the business through the breakthrough use of data and AI, delivering clearly quantified, high-impact business results and stakeholder value.

Data & AI

Register here
Cyber
ONLINE | 3.03.2027 - The leader has significantly reduced risk exposure, protected organisational value through innovative cybersecurity strategies and installed an adaptive security culture.

Cybersecurity

Register here
CIO
LONDON | 17.03.2027 - The leader has clearly demonstrated transformative strategic leadership across multiple dimensions, significantly impacting overall organisational performance and stakeholder value. The above have been demonstrated in a global/international role.

The European CIO of the Year

Register here

 SELECTION PROCESS 

  • The Objectives
  • The Jury
  • The Criteria
  • The Winners
  • The Award Ceremonies

The CIONET Awards programme has two key objectives:

 

  • To recognise and celebrate Digital Leaders and their teams who have driven organisational success by leveraging digital technologies to create significant business value.

 

  • To raise awareness of the increasingly strategic and diverse roles that Digital Leaders and their teams play across private and public sector organisations.
The Digital Leaders will be evaluated by a carefully selected Jury composed of distinguished CIOs, a representative from MIT CISR, previous winners, and CIONET International.
The criteria vary depending on the Awards category and will be shared by the CIONET Team with each Nominee.
There will be 5 Winners - one for each category. Each will be able to add this prestigious title to the list of their achievements.
CIONET is pleased to host four virtual Award Ceremonies, during which each nominee will present their achievements and participate in a category-specific Q&A session. At the conclusion of each online session, two finalists will be revealed.

The programme will culminate in an in-person Gala Ceremony featuring the presentation for the fifth category, European CIO of the Year. The four category winners will also be announced during this event. All nominees are warmly invited to attend, with winners receiving their awards amidst a celebration of true excellence alongside jury members and leading European CIOs,

TESTIMONIALS

grafiki

"Serving as a jury member for the CIONET Awards is both a privilege and a masterclass in modern digital leadership. CIONET has created an extraordinary network where the brightest tech leaders inspire one another. Standing among the nominees signals that a leader is not only driving operational excellence today, but actively steering the future of global enterprise." grafiki (2)

Dr. Jochen Göttelmann
GT/A - Airline CIO
Lufthansa Group

 

  • 6 large in real-life events per year, on a national level, bringing together 100 to 200 members/digital leaders and our Business Partners.
  • Featuring digital leaders with standout achievements in areas of key interest to our community, identified with our Advisory Board and Business Partners.
Upcoming
“Excellent  programme”

Katie Friis
Head of IT Packaging North Europe
DS Smith

  • Intimate peer-to-peer sessions with 12 to 16 participants over breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
  • 2.5–3 hours in a private setting, focused on deep networking and knowledge exchange, moderated by CIONET.
  • In collaboration with a dedicated Business Partner, reaching out to its target audience.
Upcoming
“The Gala showed that a clear shift from celebrating technology excellence to recognising agency: leaders who translate strategy into measurable impact, at scale, under real-world constraints.”

Jesús Oliva
Head of Data & AI
Moeve

  • Flagship international online conferences welcoming 700–1,000 participants.
  • In real life gatherings of top international thought leaders, discussing and shaping the digital future.
Upcoming
logo-splunk-acc-rgb-k

 


"The exclusive access to influential CIOs through the CIONET Awards has allowed us to discuss our challenges candidly. The environment promotes collaboration and genuine understanding, which is rare in today's market. This is where real partnerships begin."

grafiki (3)

 

 

 

 

Mark Woods
Field CTO
Splunk

 

  • European-wide awards and national editions like CIO+ Italy, Digital Excellence Awards Poland, and Leaders in Technology Spain.
  • Recognition of digital leaders and their teams creating impact and business value with technology.
Upcoming
“Sense of transborder community ”

Dimitris Bountolos
CIIO
Ferrovial

  • The biggest CIONET event of the year, held simultaneously in 7 European countries.
  • Combines an International panel with a local community gathering in each of the countries involved.
Upcoming

“The format was great. Great balance between the ceremony and the time to network.”

 

Véronique Sinclair
VP Global Digital & Technology
Sodexo Live! 

  • Exclusive groups ( Belgium and Poland) of organisations & companies bringing together their operational managers and tech experts to exchange experiences, visions and best practices.
  • Vendor or supplier free gatherings: confidential environments for peer-to-peer exchange among IT experts and operational IT leaders.
Upcoming

 partnership opportunities

The CIONET Awards celebrate the people shaping the future of digital leadership. We work with a select number of Business Partners who share our commitment to innovation, collaboration and executive knowledge exchange.

As a Business Partner, you have the exclusive opportunity to network at the highest level and to strengthen your thought leadership in the market by supporting the industry's most prestigious recognition programme in Europe. We offer tailored partnerships which include a limited amount of seats at the Gala Ceremony. 

Contact our team to learn more about becoming a Business Partner.

Inès de Bien, Partner & Chief Commercial Officer of CIONET
+32 477 13 73 95 │ ines.de.bien@cionet.com

 DISCOVER THE CIONET AWARDS IN YOUR COUNTRY 

SPAIN

SPAIN
POLAND

POLAND
ITALY

ITALY

FAQ
frequently asked questions

Direct self-nomination is not allowed. Candidates must be put forward by local CIONET teams (via advisory board/past winner surveys) or nominated directly by an official CIONET partner.
No, participation in the award process is completely free of charge for nominated executives.  
Registration is required via the CIONET website, but unlike closed roundtables, these virtual ceremonies are open to a broader audience outside of standard membership.  
Yes, virtual ceremony feature an interactive Q&A session where audience members can submit questions alongside the Jury's live evaluation.
Yes, CIONET publishes the recorded podcast interviews and session highlights on our Youtube channel following each event.
Attendance is strictly reserved for official nominees, Jury panel members, CIONET CxO community members, and registered guests from partner organisations.
To support our nominees on this occasion, each candidate is welcome to invite an executive colleague or industry peer.
Black Tie: Dinner jackets/tuxedos or formal evening gowns.