Eleven of San Diego County’s technology innovators were recognized at the 15th annual Top Tech Awards held at the newly constructed Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley. The awards celebration honored the region’s “unsung heroes of business”—the information technology (IT) leaders—in the areas of business, education, government, and nonprofit organizations. Since 2008, Cox Business has been the event’s presenting sponsor.
Cox Business Vice President Duane Cameron and Director, Enterprise Sales Tiffany Markus delivered opening remarks for the event. They were joined by Chris Petersen, Chief Technology Officer, Scientist.com, and Judging Chair of Top Tech Awards 2022.
Will Moses, vice president of enterprise services for ResMed, received the Top Tech Executive of the Year Award, and Ray Chan, vice president of information technology for the San Diego Padres, received the Cox Business Exemplary Award.
The 11 category honorees, selected from more than 160 nominations, include:
| Category | Honoree | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Education | Ken Wall | Poway Unified School District |
| Future of Tech Award | Sanjiv Prabhakaran | Bytes Inc. |
| Government | Sara Diaz | City of El Cajon |
| Nonprofit | Joe McNertney | The Arc of San Diego |
| Private Small (51-149 employees) | Nathan Chavez | Alarms Unlimited Professional Security Solutions. |
| Private Large (150+ employees) | Matt Putman | H.G. Fenton Company |
| Public Large (301+ employees) | Julie Westcott | NuVasive Inc. |
| Startup | Joel Abitan | Verse.io |
| Top Tech Executive of the Year | Will Moses | ResMed |
| Cox Business Exemplary Award | Ray Chan | San Diego Padres |
| Top Tech Founders Award | Larry Coval | Cox Business |
This year’s event featured a lively awards presentation, tacos and craft beer, music, dancing, dueling pianos, and even a complimentary Cox Lounge Shoe Shine service—and networking with San Diego’s most innovative leaders in technology.
“This year, it was especially meaningful getting to celebrate the Top Tech Awards in person for our milestone 15th anniversary,” said Duane Cameron, vice president of Cox Business, which has recognized local technology leaders with the awards since 2008. “The 2022 honorees have made incredible impacts in technology in our region, and it’s an honor to recognize their contributions and give them the celebration they deserve.”
Honorees for the Top Tech Awards were nominated by their peers and customers and selected by an independent judging panel.
In addition to presenting sponsor Cox Business, sponsors included CBS News 8 / The CW San Diego, San Diego Business Journal, AdTech, VIA Technical, San Diego Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP), Connect, Fresh Brewed Tech, and Tech San Diego.
About the Top Tech Awards
Since 2008, Cox Business has lauded the incredible information technology innovators in San Diego. The Top Tech Awards pay homage to the wealth of talent in our community who have vision, take risks, and implement new cutting-edge technologies, all in the name of making their organizations more connected, more productive, and more successful. Since its inception, the Top Tech Awards has grown expansively and stands today as the premier information technology event in San Diego. In 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, all presiding mayors of the city declared the event day as “Top Tech Exec Day” in San Diego, recognizing the city’s information technology leaders and their amazing contributions to our community. For more information, visit www.toptechawards.com.
