Australia's top technology and digital chiefs are crowned

Ramsay Health Care's John Sutherland took out the number 1 position in this year's CIO50 list.

Sutherland and his team used technology to overcome a range of challenges that were presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Johnson & Johnson Medical's director, business technology, Angela Coble took out the number two position, NSW Police's chief information and technology officer, Gordon Dunsford grabbed the number three spot this year.

CIO Australia received some great stories from tech leaders who placed in the list this year from 50 down to 26. There was innovation in the education sector which was thrown into disarray with students having to maintain their degree programs while enduring financial hardship due to COVID.

There was innovation across the Victorian state government where a common, reusable digital infrastructure is benefitting so many departments. There was innovation in the utility market where a tech team moved from being a centralised service provider to one that is embedded in the business.

There was also innovation in aged care, a sector that faced fierce scrutiny of a high-profile Royal Commission, as well as the property sector, financial services and media.

From position 25 to position 11, there was innovation in the education sector using blockchain, virtual and augmented reality technologies to name a few.

A Victorian government department moved a culture resistant to change to one that adopted new digital tools as the pandemic hit, and a water utility built one of the largest IoT networks in Australia.

Read the CIO50 stories here.