Applications for the 2025 Tampa Bay Tech Awards Open 7/28
The Tampa Bay Tech Awards honor outstanding individuals, innovative companies, and groundbreaking projects within the vibrant Tampa Bay tech community. It’s a fantastic opportunity to shine a spotlight on the incredible talent and achievements that make our tech ecosystem truly special.
Keep scrolling to learn more about this year’s award categories and view our past award finalists and winners!
Mark your calendars for the 22nd annual Tampa Bay Tech Awards Show, happening on Friday, November 7, 2025, at Armature Works, where we unveil the 2025 award winners! Enjoy a delectable dinner, sip on refreshing drinks, network with industry leaders, groove to the music, and bask in the fantastic atmosphere as we celebrate the outstanding achievements of the year.
Submit your nominations for our award categories by clicking the button below!
WE ARE SEEKING EVENT SPONSORS! Want to support this top community event and get your brand noticed by over 450 attendees?! Email team@tampabay.tech to learn more.
2025 Award Categories & Criteria
Emerging Tech Company of the Year
The Emerging Tech Company of the Year Award celebrates outstanding achievement and/or innovation by a company headquartered in the Tampa Bay area. This award recognizes a company that has been in business for under 5 years and has shown exceptional commitment to advancing the region’s technology sector. The recipient of this award demonstrates excellence in market disruption through their impactful contributions to the industry, as evidenced by their people, programs, and projects.
Emerging Tech Leader of the Year
The Emerging Tech Leader of the Year Award honors a visionary leader under the age of 40 who has made a substantial and transformative impact on their team, organization, and the Tampa Bay tech community. The recipient exemplifies outstanding leadership, innovation, and dedication, driving significant advancements and fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration. This individual is not only a trailblazer in their professional domain but also a proactive contributor to the broader tech ecosystem, inspiring others and setting new standards for success.
Tech Project of the Year
The Tech Project of the Year Award recognizes a groundbreaking technology project developed and led by an in-house team within the greater Tampa Bay area. The project should have been launched during the timeframe of Sept 2024 to Sept 2025 and created a significant impact regionally, nationally, or internationally through industry disruption or transformative effects within the organization. This award honors the ingenuity, dedication, and collaborative effort of the team that spearheaded a project, resulting in substantial advancements and setting new benchmarks in the technology landscape.
Tech Leader of the Year
The Tech Leader of the Year Award honors a C-level executive who has made an extraordinary impact on their organization and the broader technology industry. Nominees for this award must hold a C-level title, such as Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), or a similar executive role. The recipient of this award should have direct oversight of at least 10 team members and demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and strategic vision. This award celebrates their ability to drive transformative change, foster innovation, and contribute significantly to the advancement of the technology sector.
Tech Company of the Year
The Tech Company of the Year Award recognizes a Tampa Bay headquartered company with over 5 years in business, dedicated to advancing the region’s technology community. The honored company exemplifies transformational excellence in its people, programs, and projects, making significant contributions to its industry and setting a standard for innovation and community engagement.
Tech Educator of the Year
The Tech Educator of the Year Award recognizes an individual in an educational role that made a significant impact on student interest in pursuing a technology-centric career in the region. Additionally, the educator has delivered positive outcomes for technology students in the Tampa Bay region. This award honors the commitment to delivering a quality technology-centric curriculum that is appreciated and practiced by the student population.
2024 Award Categories and Winners
Emerging Tech Company of the Year
The Emerging Tech Company of the Year Award celebrates outstanding achievement and/or innovation by a company headquartered in the Tampa Bay area. This award recognizes a company that has been in business for under 5 years and has shown exceptional commitment to advancing the region’s technology sector. The recipient of this award demonstrates excellence in market disruption through their impactful contributions to the industry, as evidenced by their people, programs, and projects.
Emerging Tech Leader of the Year
The Emerging Tech Leader of the Year Award honors a visionary leader under the age of 40 who has made a substantial and transformative impact on their team, organization, and the Tampa Bay tech community. The recipient exemplifies outstanding leadership, innovation, and dedication, driving significant advancements and fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration. This individual is not only a trailblazer in their professional domain but also a proactive contributor to the broader tech ecosystem, inspiring others and setting new standards for success.
Tech Project of the Year
The Tech Project of the Year Award recognizes a groundbreaking technology project developed and led by an in-house team within the greater Tampa Bay area. The project should have been launched during the timeframe of Sept 2023 to Sept 2024 and created a significant impact regionally, nationally, or internationally through industry disruption or transformative effects within the organization. This award honors the ingenuity, dedication, and collaborative effort of the team that spearheaded a project, resulting in substantial advancements and setting new benchmarks in the technology landscape.
Tech Educator of the Year
The Tech Educator of the Year Award recognizes an individual in an educational role that made a significant impact on student interest in pursuing a technology-centric career in the region. Additionally, the educator has delivered positive outcomes for technology students in the Tampa Bay region. This award honors the commitment to delivering a quality technology-centric curriculum that is appreciated and practiced by the student population.
Tech Leader of the Year
The Tech Leader of the Year Award honors a C-level executive who has made an extraordinary impact on their organization and the broader technology industry. Nominees for this award must hold a C-level title, such as Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), or a similar executive role. The recipient of this award should have direct oversight of at least 10 team members and demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and strategic vision. This award celebrates their ability to drive transformative change, foster innovation, and contribute significantly to the advancement of the technology sector.
Tech Company of the Year
The Tech Company of the Year Award recognizes a Tampa Bay headquartered company with over 5 years in business, dedicated to advancing the region’s technology community. The honored company exemplifies transformational excellence in its people, programs, and projects, making significant contributions to its industry and setting a standard for innovation and community engagement.
Community Dedication & Leadership Award
Past Award Categories and Winners
Emerging Tech Company of the Year
A Tampa Bay headquartered company, in business for under 5 years, committed to advancing our region’s technology community and able to demonstrate excellence in innovation in their people, programs and projects within their industry.
2023 Finalists
- WINNER: Lazarillo
- Maya AI
- BŪP
2022 Finalists
- WINNER: Blackstraw
- Ballast Services
- Smart Edge Technologies
- Spontivly
Emerging Tech Leader of the Year
A leader, under 40 years of age, who has made a significant impact on their team, organization and/or in the Tampa Bay tech community.
2023 Finalists
- WINNER: Samantha Ramos - Founder & CEO at Tampa Bay Techies
- Aaron White - CEO & Co-Founder at Outbound.com
- Amit Agrawal - Director, Investor Relations & Platform Operations at Tampa Bay Wave
2022 Finalists
- WINNER: Marissa Huggins - COO & Founder at Spontivly
- Eddie Austin - Sr. Marketing Manager at Jabil
- David Labadie - Director of Digital Workplace Technology at Raymond James
- Shama Rathi - COO at LunaJoy Health
- Abbas Rehmani - Product Manager at Masonite
Tech Project of the Year
A technology project, developed and led by an in-house team in Tampa Bay, that created regional, national and/or international impact through industry disruption or a transformative effect within the organization.
2023 Finalists
- WINNER: The Dream Tapestry by The Dalí Museum
- PikMyKid's 911 Alert
- The Children's Trust's Integrated Data Repository & Visualization by System Soft Technologies
2022 Finalists
- WINNER: Edgility - Hospital-at-Home Project
- Geographic Solutions - Country’s First Completely Integrated Unemployment Insurance Benefits Solution
- Greenway Health - Adding Clinical Quality Measures (CQM)
- OPSWAT - OPSWAT CyberTrailer
Tech Leader of the Year
A C-level executive who has made a significant impact on their organization and the tech industry. (Nominees must hold a C-level title, such as CIO, CTO, CISO, CMO, etc. and have direct oversight of at least 10 team members)
2023 Finalists
- WINNER: Andrew McIntyre - SVP, Technology & Innovation at Vinik Sports Group | Tampa Bay Lightning
- Paul Maglionico - Vice President, Software Engineering & Tampa Development Center Leader at Penske Truck Leasing
- Stephen Gorham - Chief Operating Officer at OPSWAT
2022 Finalists
- WINNER: Kali Durgampudi - CTO at Zelis
- Jason Carney - CIO at Certified Collectibles Group
- Andrei Girenkov - Sr Managing Directorof Enterprise Technology at Greystar
Tech Company of the Year
A Tampa Bay headquartered company committed to advancing our region’s technology community and able to demonstrate transformational excellence in their people, programs and/or projects within their industry.
2023 Finalists
- WINNER: Abacode Cybersecurity & Compliance
- Geographic Solutions
- BlueCloud
2022 Finalists
- WINNER: A-LIGN
- 3D Cloud by Marxent
- Chargebacks911
- MasGlobal
Community Dedication and Leadership Award
2023 Honoree
Michelle Bauer
Chief Operating Officer of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council
2022 Honoree
In Memory of George Gordon