2013 ITA CityLIGHTS Judges & Judging Process

The 2013 Judges

CityLIGHTS judges representing business, education, VCs, government, and civic organizations  reviewed nominees and determine finalists. ITA thanks all the judges who so willingly give of their time and expertise to determine the finalists by award.  Not an easy job!

• Mark Achler, Senior Vice President, New Business, Strategy & Innovation, Redbox
• Michael Arndt, Editor, Crain's Chicago Business
  
• Jeremie Bacon, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Backstop
• Denise Bindelglass, Vice President, Human Resources, Classified Ventures
• David Bonnette, Chief Executive Officer, BigMachines
  
• Rona Borre, President and Chief Executive Officer, Instant Technology
• Ellen Carnahan, Principal, Machrie Enterprises, Inc. 
• Jamie Crouthamel, Principal, Old Town Capital
• Linda Dao, Managing Director, Technology & Digital Media, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
  
• Linda Darragh, Director, Executive Director, Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice, Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management
  
• Hazem Dawani, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, OptionsCity Software
  
• Don DeLoach, President and Chief Executive Officer, Infobright
• Jim Dugan, Chief Executive Officer, OCA Ventures Partners
  
• Scott Epskamp, President & Co-Founder, LeapFrog Online
• Mike Evans, Founder & Chief Operating Officer, GrubHub
  
• Laura Frerichs, Director, Research Park, Research Park @ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  
• Jim Gagnard, Chairman, Illinois Technology Association
• Brett Goldstein, Chief Information Officer, City of Chicago
• Ian Greenblatt, Director, Content Strategy & Business Development, Applied Research Center, Motorola Mobility
  
• Mark Harris, President and Chief Executive Officer, Illinois Science and Tech Coalition
  
• Adam Hecktman, Director, Microsoft Technology Center Chicago, Microsoft Corporation
• Troy Henikoff, Managing Director, TechStars Chicago
• Joe Jablonski, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, WeGather.com
  
• Brandon Jung, Enterprise Mid-West, Google
• Sandee Kastrul, President and Co-Founder, i.c.stars
  
• Benjamin Kern, Partner, McGuireWoods
• Ross Kimbarovsky, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, crowdSPRING
• Mike Kohnen, Director, Midwest Technology Silicon Valley Bank
  
• Dwight Koop, Chief Operating Officer, CohesiveFT
• Jeffrey Liesendahl, President, Accertify
• Dan Lyne, Director, Technology, World Business Chicago
• Pat Maher, Managing Director, nAblement (a SPR Company)
• Carole McCluskey, Chief Technology Officer, Coinstar (redbox)
  
• Jon Morris, Chief Executive Officer, Rise Interactive
  
• Maura O'Hara, Executive Director, IVCA (Illinois Venture Capital Association)
• Deepika Pandey, Vice President, Online Strategy & Customer Experience, Walgreens
  
• Karen Purze, Senior Director, Traffic Product Development, Nokia
• Bill Ready, Chief Executive Officer, Braintree
• Mike Schamberger, Partner and Head, Technology Practice, Grant Thornton
• Leigh Segall, Vice President Marketing, LeapFrog Online
  
• Rishi Shah, Chief Executive Officer, ContextMedia
• Irv Shapiro, Chief Executive Officer, Ifbyphone
• Dave Shea, President, Corptax
• Jai Shekhawat, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Fieldglass
• Michael Small, Chief Executive Officer, Gogo
• Brian Spaly, Chief Executive Officer, Trunk Club
  
• Brad Spirrison, Managing Editor, Appolicious
• Andy Stanis, Executive Director, SPR Companies: Redpoint Technologies, MPS Partners, TAP Group
• Jed Taylor, Assistant Director, Tech Entrepreneur Center, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Abel Tefridj, Vice President, Workforce Analytics, CareerBuilder
  
• Howard Tullman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy
• Leslie Vickrey, President and Founder, ClearEdge Marketing
  
• Doug Waggoner, Chief Executive Officer, Echo Global Logistics
• Eric Wasowicz, Investor and Advisor, Channel Clarity
  
• Ira Weiss, Professor, Chicago Booth

Judging Process

Finalists will be determined by a group of judges selected to represent different sectors of the Illinois business community who have deep experience in their field of expertise and an ability to fairly evaluate each entry. Judges rely heavily on information provided by each entrant; all information submitted is confidential. Judges and the judging committee have sole access to submissions. 

ITA members and the Illinois technology community at large will determine recipients in all categories in 2013. Rules:

1. Entries are accepted for a single company and/or individual in more than one category, within the restrictions specified for each award category.
2. Entries must be complete to be considered. If you are unable to provide requested information, please include a brief statement of explanation.
3. Eligible companies must be Illinois-based technology companies or divisions. They may be divisions of larger technology companies; however, all statistics and requirements must relate to the entrant's business division or entity only, not its parent company.
4. Evaluations are based on comparisons within a category, not against any set standard.
5. Winners must have a representative present at the event to receive their award.
6. Illinois Technology Association (ITA) reserves the right to change the category of an entry as it deems appropriate and to disallow any inappropriate entries.
7. All entries must be submitted by Friday, March 15, 2013 (5:00 pm) to be considered eligible.
8. The selection committee reserves the right to disqualify any entries that do not represent the technology sector. For purposes of this award competition, technology companies are defined as those organizations that create, distribute, license technology or provide technological services to Illinois businesses.
9. Finalists will be posted Monday, April 8, 2013. Once the finalists are posted, voting will be open and you must have a corporate email address to vote. Votes submitted from gmail or aol accounts must be registered at www.illinoistech.org or will not be included.The final winner will be determined by composite score (50% judges; 50% community voting)
10. Past winners can't nominate in the same category and there must be 2 years between winning and resubmission for a different award. 
11. Each person can vote for each of the eight categories once and only once.
12. Final voting will close on Monday, April 22, 2013 (5:00 pm).