Finalists Announced for the 2018 CIO of the Year Awards

The eighth annual RIS News’ CIO of the Year Awards is almost here. The yearly event will once highlight RIS’ flagship Retail Experience Summit (RES), held in San Diego, CA, and honor retail’s most influential and innovative.

In addition to the iconic CIO of the Year award, three Tech Leader awards will be presented at the event in the following categories:

• Innovation. Awarded to a senior-level retail IT professional who led a major project involving advanced or emerging technology that successfully delivered ROI top-line growth, bottom-line savings, and/or increased customer satisfaction.
• Strategic Impact. Awarded to a senior-level retail IT professional who led a major project that is advancing the organization in a new direction, market, channel or technology arena.
• Customer Experience. Awarded to the senior-level retail IT professional who led a project that significantly enhanced customer engagement, satisfaction, functionality and/or services.

Additionally, RIS will also be inducting industry veteran Bob Graham into its Hall of Fame. The Hall is open to retailers, analysts and vendors alike. It honors individuals that have embodied innovation, pioneered strategies and introduced leading-edge technologies over long and distinguished careers.
 

Below are the finalists for the award program.

CIO of the Year 

• Charles Jarrett, SVP and CIO, Cumberland Farms
• Ben Pivar, CIO, Carters

Tech Leader Award, Strategic Impact

• Steve Rempel, SVP and International CIO, Walgreens Boots Alliance
• Mike Rodgers, Chief Strategy and Information Officer, Pilot Travel Centers
• Ed Wong, SVP Supply Chain and CIO, Smart & Final

Tech Leader Award, Innovation

• Sherri Browning, Director, IT Portfolio Business Planning, 99 Cents Only Stores
• Phil Villari, Chief Financial Officer DTLR, Inc.
• Greg Zeh, VP and  CIO, Weis Market

• John Jordan, SVP, Total Wine & More
• Al Lettera, Vice President, Enterprise Applications Development, Tractor Supply Company
• John Thrailkill, Executive Vice President of IT and Business Development, The Container Store

Hall of Fame

• Bob Graham, Vice President Information Technology, CIO /Warehouse Operations, Beverages and More

The newly relaunched Retail Experience Summit (formerly Retail Executive Summit) will be held October, 2-4, 2018, at the Grand Del Mar, San Diego, California. The conference features a new interactive format, keynotes from retail leaders, peer-to-peer exchanges, relationship building, and the 8th annual CIO of the Year Awards. For more information, to view the full agenda, or to register for the event click here.