Georgia's Professional Association for Senior Technical Leaders

The 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.

Background

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 Qualification

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

Mission

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

Vision

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.

Purpose

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.

Founding Organizations

The GCLA is underwritten by contributions from five founding companies, including Deloitte, IBM, Intellinet, Morris, Manning, and Martin LLP and Microsoft. With the support of these companies, the GCLA assures all of its events remain noncommercial and are attended solely by CIO-level executives. In addition, support from these companies allows the GCLA Advisory Board to solicit common issues and define trends and programming to shape the discussion at GCLA events.