Sushma Akunuru, senior vice president and chief information officer at Independence Blue Cross (IBX), was honored with a Philadelphia 2025 ORBIE Award in the Large Enterprise category on Oct. 3. The prestigious ORBIE Awards − hosted by PhillyCIO, a chapter of the Inspire Leadership Network − honor CIOs who drive business transformation and make a lasting impact on the industry.
Akunuru was selected from a competitive pool of nominees and was recognized for her exceptional leadership, ability to build strong executive partnerships, and commitment to mentoring future technology leaders.
With over 20 years of experience spanning health care and finance, Akunuru leads resilient IT, cybersecurity, data management, digital innovation, and AI-ready workforce at IBX. She passionately champions customer-focused, forward-thinking tech solutions. Beyond her professional achievements, Akunuru is a passionate advocate for women in STEM and technology. She serves on multiple advisory boards, leads the Women in Tech initiative at IBX, chairs the Asian American Employee Resource Group, and actively promotes STEM education for underserved communities.
In her acceptance remarks, Sushma dedicated the award to her IBX colleagues and thanked the many teams and partners who played a critical role in her journey.
The ORBIE Awards celebrate excellence in technology leadership across seven categories: Super Global, Global, Large Enterprise, Enterprise, Large Corporate, Corporate, and Nonprofit/Public Sector & Leadership. The ceremony brought together top executives and industry leaders to honor transformative contributions in the tech space.