TechPoint, the nonprofit, industry-led growth accelerator for Indiana’s tech ecosystem, has announced the Tech 25 Class of 2021.

Now in its seventh year, the Tech 25 Awards honor a prestigious selection of twenty-five individuals who are critical and exceptional performers helping to grow Indiana’s tech and tech-enabled companies, but who—not being the CEO or other top executive—don’t get celebrated publicly as often.

WATCH VIDEO: The livestream video of the complete Tech 25 and CTO of the Year awards presentation is available to view on IBJ.com.

VIEW PHOTOS: A gallery of photos from the Tech 25 and CTO of the Year awards is available to view and tag on Facebook.

View photos and tag people you know in the Tech 25 and CTO of the Year awards gallery on Facebook.

A panel of 18 independent judges, including past winners and tech community leaders, selected this year’s class from three main job role categories: tech product/R&D, tech sales & marketing, and tech professional services. Winners were chosen from a very competitive class of nominees based on criteria including professional contributions, energy and attitude, and community commitment.

In addition to being star performers at their companies, winners are committed team players who build others up through mentoring, volunteering and positive examples and they are committed to contributing to the broader community.

Unlike many awards, individuals cannot apply or nominate themselves. Tech 25 candidates must be nominated by executive leadership. Companies may only put forth one nominee, which results in a remarkable and competitive class of candidates.

Fifty-eight Indiana tech and tech-enabled companies nominated a team member this year. The Tech 25 Class of 2021 was showcased and celebrated during a special joint event with Indianapolis Business Journal and its CTO of the Year awards on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021.

VIEW IBJ SUPPLEMENT: A special publication by IBJ featuring the Tech 25 class and the CTO of the Year honorees is available to view online.

The Tech 25 Class of 2020 is as follows:

Tech Product/R&D Category (14)

  • Owen Boberg, Data Scientist, Indiana Management Performance Hub (Indiana University, 2017; Hometown: Las Cruces, New Mexico)
  • Andrea de Souza, Global Head of Research Data Sciences and Engineering, Information and Digital Solutions, Eli Lilly and Company (UC Davis (1995); University of San Francisco (1997); and MIT Sloan (2013); Hometown: Citizen of the World)
  • Ben Hall, Senior Advisor – IT, Elanco (Marian University, 1996; Hometown: Shelbyville, Ind.)
  • Josh Hurst, Software Architect, Trava Security (Ball State University, 2012; Hometown: Muncie, Ind.)
  • Christopher Nord, Senior Principal Systems Engineer, Raytheon Technologies (Johns Hopkins University, 2013; Hometown: Fort Wayne, Ind.)
  • Maggie Ober, IT Manager, Allegion (Ball State University, 2012; Hometown: Pine Village, Ind.)
  • Amrutha Pulikottil, Data Science Team Lead, Resultant (Ball State University, 2015; Hometown: Pune, India)
  • Rick Seifert, Senior Director, IT, OneCause (Trine University, 1990; Hometown: Fort Wayne, Ind.)
  • Scott Sendelweck , Director, Employment Branding, Community Health Network (Purdue University, 1998; Hometown: Jasper, Ind.)
  • Matt Smith, IT Manager, Applications, Indianapolis Airport Authority (Ball State University, 2009; Hometown: Martinsville, Ind.)
  • Matt Swanson, Lead Product Engineer, SEP (Purdue University, 2010; Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.)
  • Phil Tarnowski, Director of Product, Elate (Indiana University, 2014; Hometown: Columbus, Ind.)
  • Marie Williams, UX Designer, enVista (Ashford University, 2016; Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.)
  • Stephanie Zircher, VP, Programs, Nextech (Purdue University, 2003; Hometown: Murrysville, Penn.)

Tech Professional Services Category (5)

  • Jaylan Fisher, Associate Recruiter, Jobvite (Ball State University, 2018; Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.)
  • Miranda Nicholson, SVP, Human Resources, Formstack
  • Val Spangler, Sr. Manager of BI Operations, hc1 (Anderson University (MBA) 2012, Carroll University 2005; Hometown: Munster, Ind.)
  • Patrick Wagner, Senior Program Consultant, BCforward (DePauw University, 2010; Indianapolis, Ind.)
  • Stephanie Williams, Customer Success and Enterprise Collaboration Specialist, State of Indiana Office of Technology (Western Governors University, 2018; Hometown: Edinburgh, Ind.)

Tech Sales and Marketing Category (6)

  • Katie Baird, Content Marketing Specialist, Codelicious (Butler University, 2018; Hometown – Novi, Michigan)
  • Drew Beechler, Director of Marketing, High Alpha (Anderson University, 2013; Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.)
  • Brad Beutler, Director of Content Marketing, Terminus (Purdue University, 2012; Hometown: West Lafayette, Ind.)
  • Drew Detzler, Director of Marketing and Acquisition, DemandJump (Indiana University, 2012; Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.)
  • Kat Gordon, Head of Customer Success, Malomo (University of Michigan, 2005; Hometown: Grand Rapids, Michigan)
  • Sally Perkins, Insight Storyteller, Authenticx (University of Kansas, Ph.D., 1991; Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.)

Biographies and photos of the Tech 25 Class of 2021 are available on TechPoint.org. For additional logos, Tech 25 badges, photo and information, contact Joshua Hall at joshua@techpoint.org.

ABOUT TECHPOINT:

TechPoint is the nonprofit, industry-led growth initiative for Indiana’s technology companies and overall tech ecosystem. The team is focused on attracting talent, accelerating scale-up companies, activating the community and amplifying stories of success. For more information, please visit www.techpoint.org.