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Awards Winners

2024 Tech Titan Award Winners

The Tech Titans Awards were launched in 2001 by Tech Titans, North Texas’ most comprehensive organization supporting technology. The prestigious annual contest recognizes outstanding technology companies and individuals in the North Texas area who have made contributions during the past year locally, as well as to the technology industry overall. The Tech Titans Gala committee is a group of dedicated volunteers who organize the awards ceremony each year, and judges for the contest are drawn from a variety of disciplines in technology, leaders in the DFW area and past winners.

Hall of Fame inductee: George Brody

This award honors a North Texas technology visionary for outstanding leadership in assisting, advancing and accelerating the performance of the technology industry and/or adoption of technology in North Texas; spanning more than one decade and reaching far beyond the individual’s company/organization.

After briefly retiring from corporate life subsequent to a 43-year career that included 26 years of Big Company life mixed in with an exciting 17-year entrepreneurial journey, George is currently the Founder and Managing Partner of InfoNet of Things LLC, an IoT solutions company. Prior to that, as Founder, President and CEO of GlobeRanger, George was responsible for guiding the company through its integration phase and global growth following its acquisition by Fujitsu in May 2014. George’s vision of the ‘enterprise edge’, born out of his pioneering work in the wireless world, is the foundation of GlobeRanger’s market leading iMotion platform. Prior to co-founding GlobeRanger in 1999, Brody served as Vice President and General Manager of Nortel Networks’ Wireless Network Solutions division where he managed a series of entrepreneurial start-ups including Wireless New Business Ventures, a business incubator. During his tenure at Nortel, as Vice President of Wireless Technology, Brody was responsible for its global wireless product development programs and the management of the Bell Northern Research Labs in Richardson, a world-class research and development organization that employed more than 2,500 professionals.

pictured with Award Sponsor, Stuart Sides (L) of BGSF

Corporate CEO winner: Sean Yalamanchi, InfoVision

This award recognizes the CEO or Division President of a technology company within North Texas with revenues of more than $200 million.

Mr. Sean Yalamanchi is the co-founder and the president of InfoVision with a vast experience of more than two decades in Digital Transformation, Growth Management & Business Development, Information Technology, and Leadership. He leverages his expertise to lead business development, global innovation, and strategic alliances in his role. Additionally, Mr. Yalamanchi focuses on innovative technologies, execution, and leadership. Passionate about entrepreneurship and philanthropy, he encourages his people to push boundaries and serve their communities and donates his time to sit on the Board of Directors for various associations. Mr. Sean Yalamanchi received a 96% CEO Approval Rating on a reputed platform (Glassdoor) which is a testament to his leadership quality. His direction has led InfoVision (Great Place to Work certified Company) to win numerous accolades, such as the Zinnov Zones Top ER&D Companies (2022 and 2023), Top Companies Revolutionizing Retail, Dallas Top 100, and Inc. 500 lists. Under his guidance, Infovision was named the winner of a Bronze Stevie® Award in the
Achievement in Product Innovation category in the 11th annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

pictured with Award Sponsor, Dr. Kay Eggleston, Dallas College

Community Hero: Juliet Odima, S.T.E.A.M Achievers

This award recognizes an individual employed by a North Texas technology company for outstanding achievements in community service to the North Texas area. 

Award-winning IT operations, product, project and L&D leader with over 15 years of success in developing, leading and mentoring tech leaders, domestic and offshore teams, in the design, project management and implementation of data-driven product strategies, roadmaps, “Go To Market” strategies and customer success. Recognized for successfully leading enterprise IT projects, cloud transformation, data analytics, SDLC, program and product management, people management, change management, professional development and talent acquisition strategies.
Juliet serves as the Senior Vice President of Academic Operations at Colaberry Inc., where she leads domestic and offshore product teams, data science, analytics and agile project teams in the development, deployment of projects, including state-of-the-art LMS platforms, and AI-driven Video Feedback System, from the ground up.
She has held various leadership roles in her career, in the for profit and nonprofit sector, including Executive Director, VP of Product, Director of Digital Transformation Learning and Development and VP of Business Development in the technology, financial services, travel, hospitality and retail industries.
She has served in various boards as chair of the Uplift Education Career and Technical Education Advisory Board, Irving ISD, Coppell ISD Coding Advisory Board, Irving Chamber Technology Leadership Council (TLC), among others. Juliet is a talk show host of the DEI in Tech show, showcasing movers and shakers in technology and S.T.E.A.M.

pictured with Shanthi Rajaram, Amazech

Corporate Innovation: GM Financial

This award recognizes a company for outstanding innovation and unique accomplishments through recent or potential breakthrough technology or approach within the North Texas technology industry with revenues of more than $200 million.

By reducing the overhead of managing their fleet vehicles, the solution enables small businesses to focus on growing their business and keeping their customer satisfied. Through better vehicle management, the total cost of ownership of each vehicle is significantly lowered. By lowering the total cost of ownership of fleet vehicles, the businesses can reinvest savings into their own growth, pass savings on to customers and benefit the overall small business ecosystem. The solution empowers small businesses with the same tools that were previously only available to very large businesses. Small businesses are the engine of the economy, and this solution provides them a competitive advantage to thrive on an equal footing with large corporations. The digital tools built as part of the solution enable a seamless dealer/customer experience from initial point-of-sale all the way to customer on-boarding and servicing.

Sponsored by Qorvo

Corporate CIO/CTO: Paul Challoner, Ericsson

This award recognizes a Chief Information Officer or Corporate Technology or Science Officer of a company with revenues of more than $200 million for exceptional technical leadership that fostered the development or deployment of a new technology resulting in significant value for the company.

Paul Challoner’s team has achieved a significant technological breakthrough by revolutionizing Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN) in the wireless industry. Traditional Radio Access Networks (RAN) are purpose-built, meaning all components radio units, baseband units, and software are tightly integrated and designed to work together seamlessly if all from a single vendor.

Open RAN introduces a more modular approach, allowing network operators to mix and match components from different vendors. This flexibility is akin to building a state-of-the-art computer where you can choose the best processor, graphics card, and memory from various manufacturers to meet specific needs. The transition from traditional RAN to Open RAN is complex, requiring the development of new standards and interfaces to ensure all these diverse components interoperate smoothly and efficiently.

In the wireless industry, particularly with the deployment of 5G networks, the need for robust, flexible, and efficient infrastructure is critical. The nominee's team has developed the necessary technology and strategies to make Open RAN a practical and deployable reality. Their efforts have addressed significant technical hurdles, ensuring interoperability, maintaining network performance, and enhancing security.

This innovation fosters a more competitive and dynamic ecosystem, modernizing the wireless industry and ultimately benefiting consumers and businesses with more accessible and advanced network services.

pictured with Award Sponsor, Lisa Jackson, Deloitte

Emerging Company Innovation: Dallas Museum of Art

This award recognizes a company for outstanding innovation and unique accomplishments through recent or potential breakthrough technology or approach within the North Texas technology industry with revenues of at least $2 million but not more than $200 million.

Last year, the DMA embarked on the implementation of the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) adoption. This technology involves creating a manifest for each object in our extensive online collection, which comprises over 26,000 items housed within our museum.

We are now advancing our capabilities further by introducing an innovative AI art detection technology within our galleries. Visitors will be able to use their smartphones to point at an object, triggering the AI detection to identify the artwork and subsequently access its corresponding manifest from our online collection. The system will then leverage Amazon AWS translation services to deliver comprehensive content related to that object directly to their phones, translated into their preferred language.

This exciting development promises to enhance the visitor experience by seamlessly connecting our physical exhibitions with rich, accessible digital content.

pictured with Award Sponsor, Julie Johnson, HumCap

Emerging Company CEO: Eric Fortenberry, JobTread

This award recognizes the CEO of a technology company headquartered in North Texas with revenues of at least $2 million but not more than $200 million.

Eric Fortenberry, as the Founder and CEO of JobTread Software, has exhibited exemplary leadership by driving the company’s mission to transform construction project management through innovative technology. His vision for JobTread has been clear and ambitious from the outset: to develop the new standard for construction project management. Eric’s deep understanding of the industry’s challenges, combined with his commitment to continuous improvement, has guided JobTread’s development into a leading solution that meets the evolving needs of contractors and builders. His hands-on approach in product development, from conceptualization to execution, reflects his dedication to creating tools that genuinely solve the pain points experienced by users in the field.

Eric's commitment to JobTread extends beyond product development; he actively fosters a company culture centered on innovation, customer focus, and excellence. He regularly engages with customers to gather feedback, ensuring that their insights directly inform the platform’s enhancements and new features. This involvement has not only led to a product that closely aligns with user needs but also builds strong, trust-based relationships with JobTread’s growing community of users. Under his leadership, JobTread has achieved significant milestones, including rapid user adoption, industry accolades, and a reputation for exceptional customer support. Eric’s ability to inspire and lead his team, while maintaining a close connection with JobTread’s customers, exemplifies his unwavering dedication to advancing the construction technology landscape through practical, impactful solutions.

Eric Fortenberry’s vision is also evident in his strategic initiatives aimed at long-term growth and industry influence. He has been instrumental in establishing partnerships with key industry players, expanding JobTread’s ecosystem, and enhancing its integration capabilities. By staying ahead of technological trends and fostering a culture of continuous learning within the company, Eric ensures that JobTread remains at the cutting edge of construction management solutions. His leadership style, characterized by transparency, collaboration, and a relentless focus on delivering value, has positioned JobTread as a trusted partner for contractors and builders seeking to modernize their operations and achieve greater project success.

pictured with Award Sponsor, Andrew Jackson, BravoTECH

Emerging Company CIO/CTO: Chad Stilwell, Agora Data

This award recognizes a Chief Information Officer or Corporate Technology or Science Officer of a company with revenues of at least $2 million but not more than $200 million for exceptional technical leadership that fostered the development or deployment of a new technology resulting in significant value for the company.

Chad Stilwell, CTO of Agora Data, Inc., exemplifies technical leadership by identifying opportunities, building corporate consensus, and ensuring his team has the necessary resources for success. With extensive technology and development expertise, Chad applies his passion for cutting-edge technology that drives him to solve today's challenges.

Chad's leadership in identifying opportunities is demonstrated through his innovative approach to leveraging AI and machine learning for the auto finance industry. He builds corporate consensus by effectivively communicating the potential impact of these technologies and secures executive support for ambitious projects. Chad ensures his team is well-equipped by providing access to the latest tools and fostering a collaborative environment where developers can thrive.

Under Chad's guidance, Agora Data delivers personalized business intelligence and expert analytics, transforming the way lenders and auto dealers optimize loan performance and operations. His leadership continues to drive Agora Data's success and innovation in the auto finance sector.

Sponsored by NTT DATA

Start Up CEO: Taylor Shead, Stemuli

This award recognizes the CEO of a technology company headquartered in North Texas with revenues of no more than $2 million.

By executing her strategic vision, Taylor Shead has demonstrated success in scaling Stemuli's impact. Taylor’s leadership has led to partnerships with major school districts and educational organizations, enabling Stemuli to secure over 2 million learners in licensing agreements. These collaborations have allowed Stemuli to turn schools into video games by integrating any 3rd party educational content into their innovative learning platform, providing students with a unique way to access the tools they need to succeed in the workforce.

One key accomplishment that exemplifies Taylor’s leadership is Stemuli's victory at the United Nation’s AI for Good Innovation Factory Grand Finale, held in Geneva, Switzerland May 2024. As the first Black woman-founded startup to win this prestigious competition.

Taylor's innovative use of AI in education addresses critical gaps, particularly for economically disadvantaged students, 86% of whom lack post-secondary credentials. By transforming K-12 education and workforce development, Taylor is not only driving economic mobility but also setting a precedent for future leaders in technology and education. Her proven track record and continued commitment to social impact solidify her as a rising leader with immense potential to shape the future.

Sponsored by Turbo Start

Technology Advocate:  Tech FW

This award recognizes an individual or company for outstanding leadership in championing, assisting, advancing or accelerating the performance of the technology industry in North Texas.

For more than two decades, TechFW has stood at the forefront of Fort Worth‘s innovation landscape, tirelessly working to empower entrepreneurs and foster economic prosperity through the advancement of technology. Reinforcing the spirit of mentorship, adaptability, and community that have been instrumental in the success stories of countless startups, TechFW has helped fuel our leadership position in our innovative ecosystem.

At TechFW, our community has witnessed an evolution and a continual drive to work at greater heights of collaboration in supporting founders. We have more pathways than ever before available to those looking to dive into technology entrepreneurship. From the most in supporting mentors in the MCrew team-based mentoring program, and more angel investors in Cowtown Angels, our community has been strengthened. Building new on-ramps has been key. We‘ve formed new partnerships and collaborations with esteemed institutions such as Tarleton State University, Texas Woman‘s University, LaunchBio, and the University of Texas at Austin alongside long running partners at HSC Next, University of Texas at Arlington, TMAC, and Texas Christian University.

TechFW has had the privilege of supporting and celebrating several successful exits, including ZS Pharma, Encore Vision, Exact Diagnostics, Abexxa, and GAP Peptides. These success stories are a testament to the TechFW leadership model and the work of all past and current team members. We aim to connect the dots between technology, societal well-being, and economic growth while striving for a founder-friendly model that nurtures innovation and entrepreneurship at every turn.

Technology Inventor: Shalini Prasad, UT Dallas/EnLiSense

This award recognizes the pioneering accomplishments of a North Texas person, team or group responsible for the creation of technical breakthrough ideas, processes or products which have advanced the discipline. 

Through her company, EnLiSense, Prasad works to commercialize the technology for public use.

This summer, EnLiSense launched the Corti health wearables for stress and sleep hormone levels.  EnLiSense continues to conduct additional clinical studies that further validate cortisol and melatonin monitoring. The cortiwearable is now aavible to users through cortiwearable.com

Prasad has conducted extensive research on sensor technology to detect inflammatory biomarkers.The research has been validated through recent clinical studies at the University of Chicago and Mount Sinai. The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation funded two clinical studies that recently highlighted IBD Aware’s potential. The research demonstrated the device’s potential for monitoring inflammatory diseases by finding a correlation between sweat and blood markers. The IBDAWARE wearble is now available for beta users through ibdwearable.com

Prasad and her team worked on a sensor to measure soil health parameters including pH, moisture, volumetric bulk density, soil organic matter, carbonaceous soil minerals and total soil carbon for sponsor Soil in Formation, a public benefit corporation, which is working to bring the technology to farmers. Locally, Prasad’s team installed sensors at the Hatcher Station Farm in South Dallas to test the technology in a local community farm setting.

pictured with Award Sponsor, Barbara Baffer, Ericsson

Tech Titan of the Future - High School: Kjeil Lease, Lewisville High School 

This award recognizes a North Texas high school (grades 9-12) math or science teacher for development and implementation of an innovative teaching technique or program that inspires student interest regarding further educational and/or career pursuits in STEM.

The teaching method that Mr. Lease has adopted is based on his own experience in industry.  He had a college-level intern come to his office from a local, well-known university.  He asked the student to do something very basic, and the student froze.  He had no idea how to respond in the real-world.  Mr. Lease carried that memory with him the rest of his years in industry, and when he joined the teaching profession, decided that his students would be prepared to step into an IT company and know how to respond to challenges.

It is easy to see how all of the projects listed above easily push students toward careers in STEM.  These projects go beyond “learn this to pass a test” to “there is a real-world problem and WE came up with a real-world solution - AND it is being used!”.  The impact on students is tangible.  Students are engaged, wanted to come to class, wanted to work hard, and were working as a team.

The keys that Mr. Lease focuses on with his teaching method are challenging students while also fostering curiosity. Examples of this are the PID Controller project followed by the duck project.  The first assignment was just focused on the PID controller in general.  He wrote some code that simulated the reactor and they had to control it with their PID code.  The Duck robots required two PID controllers working together, one for follow distance and one for steering.  The students had to tie it into knowing how to use vision processing, AprilTags*, and java data structures to know how to control the following robots.

Each of these projects is something that students will be able to talk about again during an interview.  It is something they can list on a résumé.  These are real projects that a future employer will want to hear about, as opposed to fictional assignments that are done in most high school computer science classes.

The students involved in these projects are currently following steps that will have each of them continue down a path toward a STEM career.

Tech Titan of the Future - University: University of Texas at Dallas, Jonsson School, UTDesign Program, UTDesign

This award recognizes an accredited educational institution in the North Texas area that encourages and supports students to choose engineering and technology related disciplines as a preferred career path. 

UTDesign is a suite of programs located in the 45,000 square foot UTDesign Studio, that gives UT Dallas students STEM Work Based Learning experiences in a mentoring environment. What do “Work Based Learning (WBL) experiences” and “mentoring environment” mean? “WBLs” are real-world problems solved by teams of people that work with the ultimate customer to develop the product specification, design, proof-of-concept, redesign, prototype, test, and transfer of results to the client. A “mentoring environment” means students learn technical and professional skills from a diverse group of mentors including their peers, faculty, staff, non-profit leaders, community volunteers, and industry partners. UTDesign started in 2009 with 7 teams of 4 seniors (28 students), 4 faculty mentors, and 7 industry mentors. Last year alone, over 1,400 students, 80 faculty mentors, and 225 external sponsors (non-profit, community volunteers, and industry mentors) participated in UTDesign credit projects; plus, over 400 students participated each week in non-credit UTDesign student/community projects. UTDesign is comprised of five major pillars: Makerspace, EPICS, Capstone, Masters, and StartUp.

 

Fast Tech: JobTread

This award recognizes the fastest growing technology, telecommunications and/or life sciences company in North Texas. Fast Tech Award finalists are determined based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2021 - 2023.

In 2021, JobTread launched to the market and ended with about 200 customers. In just three and a half years after that launch, we are now at over 3,400 customers world-wide, primarily in the US, followed by Canada, the UK, and Australia. Almost all of this growth has occurred organically or from attending industry tradeshows. We only started running online advertisements in February of 2024.

Additionally JobTread's monthly recurring revenue is growing exponentially, with a 197% increase compared to this time last year.

Here are some recent stats on the usage of our platform:

  • $4.9 billion dollars in jobs have been sold and managed on JobTread

  • Over 20,000 active users

  • Over 373,000 jobs have been run on JobTread

  • Over 352,000 vendors managed

  • Over 763,000 customers managed

  • Our users have logged more than 4.8 million hours

JobTread has also been recognized for the following:

  • 2024 Best of IBS (International Builders Show) finalist in the Business Software Category by NAHB (National Association of Home Builders)

  • #1 Construction Management Software by GetApp in 2023

  • #1 Construction Estimating Software by GetApp in 2023

  • #1 Construction Management Software by Software Advice in 2023

  • #1 Construction Estimating Software by Software Advice in 2023

  • Named a Best Place to Work by the Dallas Business Journal in 2022 and 2023

  • 2024 Dallas Innovates Award Finalist

JobTread also has over 175 five-star Google Reviews.

pictured with Award Sponsors, Vance McCollough, Moss Adams
Charles Fell, Comerica
Ollie Chandhok. Dallas Business Journal

Past winners

HALL OF FAME:
2023 - Gertrude Van Horn, NCH Corporation
2022 - Doug Moore, Fujitsu
2021 - David Matthews, RevTech Ventures
2020 - Valerie Freeman, BravoTECH


CORPORATE CEO AWARD:
2023 - Andrew Schapp, Aligned Data Center
2022 - Charlie Vogt, DZS
2021 - Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Entertainment
2020 - Niklas Heuveldop, Ericsson North America


COMMUNITY HERO AWARD:
2023 - Swathi Nelabhatla, She-Jobs
2022 - Danyel Surrency Jones, POWERHANDZ
2021 - Anurag Jait, Get Shift Done
2019 - Bob Sawler, The Realtime Group

 

CORPORATE INNOVATION AWARD:
2023 - Aligned Data Center
2022 - Brinker International
2021 - Gearbox Entertainment
2020 - +1 Labs at Match Group


CORPORATE CIO/CTO AWARD:
2023 - Carissa De Santis, Brix Holdings
2022 - Gordon Mansfield, AT&T
2021 - Neelu Sethi, CIO, Reddy Ice
2021 - Maria Lensing, CTO, McKesson Corporation

 

EMERGING COMPANY INNOVATION AWARD:
2023 - Connect 5G
2022 - Aligned Data Centers
2021 - Esposure
2020 - BALANCED Media | Technology

 

EMERGING COMPANY CEO AWARD:
2023 - Steve Miff, Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation
2022 - Srii Srinivasan, Chargeback Gurus
2021 - Mance Harmon, Hedera Hashgraph
2020 - Teresa Mackintosh, Trintech

 


EMERGING COMPANY CIO/CTO AWARD:
2023 - Thomas Sweet, Industrial Refrigeration Pros
2022 - Dr. Corey Clark, BALANCED Media | Technology
2021 - Andrew Wildrix, Intrusion

 

START UP COMPANY CEO AWARD:
2023 - Rahul Saini, Teliatry
2022 - Daniel Powell, Spark Biomedical, Inc
2021 - JD Enright, TMGcore

 


TECHNOLOGY ADVOCATE AWARD:
2023 - Barbara Baffer, Ericsson North America
2022 - Robyn Brown, Bold Idea
2021 - Michael Hill, Cumulus Technologies
2020 - Stephanie Valdez, Per Scholas

 


TECHNOLOGY INVENTORS AWARD:
2023 - Walter Voit & Benjamin Lund, Adaptive 3D Desktop Metal
2022 - Mark Harrison, Ericsson
2021 - Leemon Baird, Hedera Hashgraph
2020 - Ed Chao, Polte

 


TECH TITAN OF THE FUTURE - HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL:
2023 - Casey McCluskey - Marcus High School
2022 - Wenzen Chuang, Highland Park High School 
2021 - Morris Goldade, Wylie ISD
2019 - Leigh Ann Mitchell, Lewisville High School

 

TECH TITAN OF THE FUTURE - UNIVERSITY LEVEL:
2023 - DEEN University of North Texas, College of Engineering
2022 - The Sustainability + Development Program, SMU
2021 - Jeffrey McGee, UT Arlington
2019 - Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UT Dallas


FAST TECH AWARD:
2023 - TAP Innovations
2022 - TimelyMD
2021 - Cysiv
2020 - Leo Cyber Security


TECHNOLOGY ADOPTER AWARD:
2019 - Rebel Athletic
2018 - Callbox Storage, LLC
2017 - Caliber Collision Centers


INVESTMENT CATALYST AWARD:
2019 - Perot Jain
2018 - Bryan Chambers, The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UT Dallas
2017 - Bios Partners

 

LEADERSHIP AWARD:
2006 - Cisco Systems
2005 - Skywire Software
2004 - Electronic Data Systems, EDS

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