The Georgia CIO of the Year ® Awards, presented by the Georgia CIO Leadership Association, is an annual awards program honoring individuals who have demonstrated outstanding technical leadership in Georgia. The awards recognize chief information officers, or those in equivalent positions, who have shown excellence in managing their company's, or organization's, enterprise-wide information systems.

The GCLA is the preeminent professional organization for Georgia’s information technology leaders. Founded in 2003, its membership is comprised exclusively of chief information officers or individuals in equivalent positions at companies and organizations throughout the state. The GCLA is a non-profit, noncommercial organization led by an Advisory Board of Georgia CIOs.

Membership in the GCLA is comprised of CIOs and those in equivalent positions from companies with more than $100 million in revenue.

The GCLA’s mission is focused on building a strong professional community among Georgia’s information technology leaders.

The GCLA serves as the primary advocate and unified voice for the Georgia CIO community. The organization works with business, government and industry leaders, within the state and nationally, to build valuable relationships and to establish Georgia as a technology leader.

The GCLA exists to provide a forum to share ideas, best practices and experiences relevant to CIOs. The organization is committed to creating opportunities for Georgia CIOs to engage in substantive, issues-based discussion related to their industries and profession.

By providing industry growth and professional development through hosting luncheons, round tables and executive events that facilitate valuable interaction among senior-level experts, the GCLA brings recognition and support to Georgia’s executive technical communities. Prior guest speakers at GCLA events include: Paul Dell, Senior VP & President of Dell, Inc; Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft; Tom Siebel, CEO of Siebel Systems, Inc.; and Tom Noonan, CEO of Internet Security Systems.

The dedicated support for GCLA development of Georgia information leadership was originally enabled by five underwriters: Deloitte, Intellinet, IBM Internet Security Systems, Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP and Microsoft.