From inspiring educators, to passionate chapter leaders, to those who have created an innovative business solution, the ISACA Awards celebrate individuals and organizations who have had a positive impact on our society, while inspiring future generations of IT and technology professionals.
Nominations for the 2027 ISACA Awards are now open, and as someone who has had the pleasure of serving on the ISACA Awards Working Group, I want to encourage ISACA members and industry professionals to nominate anyone who has made outstanding contributions to our professional community.
The goals of the ISACA Awards program are:
- Publicity: The ISACA Awards help to leverage the importance of the professions that ISACA supports and serves. Our profession is not always credited with the recognition awarded to other industries.
- Aspirational: ISACA Awards are meaningful and recognized throughout the industry.
- Engagement: The ISACA Awards are a peer-recognition activity supported by our members, who act as awards reviewers and nominators. Apply here if you're interested in volunteering to evaluate nominations.
- Recognition: The awards recognize ISACA members, individuals and organizations alike for their dedicated efforts.
Award Categories
There are a range of awards honoring industry accomplishments, business leaders, and volunteer commitments to advancing ISACA’s mission which are detailed in Figure 1 below.
| Category & Award | Scope | |
|---|---|---|
|
Global Achievement Awards |
ISACA Technology for Humanity Award |
Recognizes an individual, program, or organization whose efforts in connecting with underserved communities or underrepresented individuals has helped bridge the digital divide. |
|
ISACA Educational Excellence Award |
Recognizes an inspiring educator or academic at the primary, secondary, or tertiary educational level or an educational institution with inspiring initiatives who has empowered students to pursue careers advancing technology. |
|
|
ISACA Inspirational Leadership Award |
Recognizes a visionary leader who has inspired organizations and professionals to advance and adapt within a digital world. |
|
|
Innovative Solutions Award |
New Scope: Recognizes an individual, team, start-up, or organization that has created and/or applied an innovative business solution that advances digital trust for an organization. |
|
|
Hall of Fame |
Hall of Fame |
ISACA members can recognize other inspiring members who have shown exemplary dedication to advancing ISACA’s purpose through volunteer service, member engagement, and other activities. |
|
Chapter Awards |
ISACA Outstanding Chapter Achievement Award |
Recognizes chapters that exceed service goals by actively supporting local membership and, thus ISACA. |
|
ISACA Innovative Chapter Program Award |
Recognizes a creative, original, and sustainable program implemented within an ISACA chapter that supports an engaging and positive experience for chapter members and/or helps attract new members and/or partners. |
|
|
ISACA Outstanding Chapter Leader Award |
Recognizes ISACA Chapter Leaders for their effective and inspiring leadership within the chapter resulting in increased member engagement and a positive impact on ISACA’s professional community. |
|
|
Certification Exam Top Score |
ISACA recognizes the top scores for CISA, CRISC, CISM, CGEIT, and CDPSE exams worldwide the year following the exam. |
2027 will see the inclusion of AAIA, AAISM, and AAIR. |
New Scope for Innovative Solutions Award
As detailed above, the Innovative Solutions Award has a new scope and judging criteria to better align and clarify our intent in recognizing new and impactful ways companies and individual are advancing digital trust.
The new judging criteria is focusing on technology-driven or non–technological business solution with positive influence on key elements of digital trust such as audit and assurance, security, governance, risk management and privacy; measurable impact on local and/or global stakeholders; real-world application and implementation; evaluation of nominator and endorsers; timeliness of recognition; and quality of nomination.
Nominations: Telling a Story
When you submit a nomination, tell the story about that person or organization, rather than just listing accomplishments. Focus on specific scenarios, including information such as:
- The context or environment the individual found themselves in.
- The objective they were focused on or problem they were trying to solve.
- The action taken.
- The impact and result of that person’s actions.
Actions and stories help the award reviewers and awards working group to understand who this person or organization is and why they should receive the award.
Tips For a Great Application
The process for nominating might feel like a big jump, so here are some tips for submitting a quality application, with more videos in the nomination portal to guide you through the process:
- Set aside dedicated time and allow yourself enough time to complete the submission.
- Focus on telling this person’s story and highlighting their impact with data where appropriate.
- Collaborate with colleagues and others who know the nominee well to gather information, share the workload, and secure the required endorsement letter(s). Remember that multiple perspectives help paint a more complete picture of the candidate’s achievements.
Honoring and Celebrating our Recipients
The 2026 ISACA Awards Ceremony, held on 7 May at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, brought the “Midnight in Paris” theme to life in a lively celebration that blended recognition with high-energy entertainment. Set in an elegant ballroom, the cocktail-style evening featured immersive décor and a live band that created a vibrant atmosphere for guests to connect, mingle, and celebrate ISACA’s global community.
A highlight of the program was the live announcement of the Eugene Frank Founders Award, the only award revealed live on stage, which served as a powerful finale to the recipient presentations. The audience responded with enthusiastic energy as Lucio Augusto Molina Focazzio was named the 2026 recipient. Learn more about all of our 2026 honorees.
Helping To Promote ISACA Awards
ISACA has a presence in 188 countries; this is a huge reach and we need all our members to spread the word. Here are some final suggestions for helping us get the news out there:
- You can apply to review award applicants of nominations submitted.
- Ask five of your professional contacts whether they know anyone who would meet the criteria.
- Share this blog post across your social media platforms and ISACA’s Engage forums.
Nominate a colleague today and tell us their story here. The nomination deadline is 15 August.
About the author: Hannah Hunt, CISM, CRISC, AIGP, ISO/IEC 27001 LA, ISO/IEC 27001 LI, IASME Cyber Essentials Assessor, IASME Cyber Assurance Assessor, is head of threat intelligence at Dark Armour Ltd. She is a member of the ISACA Awards Working Group. She has 15 years of experience in defense, intelligence, physical security, cybersecurity, and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC).
