CIO — The five accomplished executives we induct this year into the CIO Hall of Fame are leaders defined by the drive to test themselves and, in the process, push their organizations to new heights. They combine superb management with technology prowess to produce a line of sustained financial results for the public and private sectors.

Some of our honorees point to opportunities early in their careers that set them on a course to create competitive value from software and hardware. Like Frank Modruson of Accenture, who landed an entry-level technology job that he says taught him business lessons. And Tom Murphy of AmerisourceBergen (ABC), who worked for bosses that gave him room to experiment. Sure, luck may have played a role. But the wit to recognize and run with an opportunity has set apart these CIOs—as well as Tom Flanagan of Amgen, Filippo Passerini of Procter & Gamble and Brent Stacey of Idaho National Laboratory—throughout their careers.

CIO — The five accomplished executives we induct this year into the CIO Hall of Fame are leaders defined by the drive to test themselves and, in the process, push their organizations to new heights. They combine superb management with technology prowess to produce a line of sustained financial results for the public and private sectors.

Some of our honorees point to opportunities early in their careers that set them on a course to create competitive value from software and hardware. Like Frank Modruson of Accenture, who landed an entry-level technology job that he says taught him business lessons. And Tom Murphy of AmerisourceBergen (ABC), who worked for bosses that gave him room to experiment. Sure, luck may have played a role. But the wit to recognize and run with an opportunity has set apart these CIOs—as well as Tom Flanagan of Amgen, Filippo Passerini of Procter & Gamble and Brent Stacey of Idaho National Laboratory—throughout their careers.

As a 26-year-old Navy officer, Flanagan was about to leave the service to begin a business career when he was asked to help set up a system using satellites and mainframe computers to provide military data to submarines thousands of miles away. Such a system was relatively new then, in the mid-1970s, and Flanagan didn’t know much about how to do it, he says. He could have declined and got on with civilian life. He didn’t. Not only did he do the job, but he did it so well that he was chosen to brief the most senior officials from the Department of Defense and President Jimmy Carter.

He remained in the Navy another 19 years, working on technology innovation and retiring as a captain.

“That’s a lesson I’ve carried with me: When you’re bored, get out of your comfort zone. Control your own destiny,” says Flanagan, who is now CIO of Amgen, a $15 billion pharmaceutical and research powerhouse.

According to our judges, who are themselves among the 50 executives already in the CIO Hall of Fame, each of this year’s inductees has distinguished himself through leading-edge projects, deft turnaround work and making brand-new business models possible.

Our judges are a critical lot, evaluating the applications of 32 worthy CIOs for patterns of professional growth and strong business results, as well as additional contributions to the IT field and the larger community. (See our list here.)