Chris Bjornson, chief information officer at Accenture Federal Services, has won WashingtonExec’s 2020 Chief Officer Award for Public Company CIO.
In its inaugural year, the Chief Officer Awards luncheon was held June 17 as a virtual live-streamed program to accommodate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations about in-person events. Over 500 people watched as C-suite executives in both industry and government were recognized for innovation, expertise, impact and thought leadership.
Bjornson has 25 years of services with Accenture working with Fortune 500 companies, and has directed global programs for large companies and federal agencies, according to his LinkedIn.
WATCH: 2020 Chief Officer Award Winner: Public Company CIO Chris Bjornson, Accenture Federal Services
Since joining Accenture in 1995, he’s held positions such as delivery lead and enterprise architect, global technology director and global digital lead before becoming CIO in 2013. He’s worked on green-field initiatives, an internet startup, mergers and acquisitions and designing new offshore engagement models.
Among his 2019 accomplishments were automating more than 4,000 hours of manual work across finance, HR and IT, saving Accenture $200,000 per year with its first 13 “bots” using robotic process automation.
Bjornson is also involved with educational programs, including FIRST Chesapeake, an organization that inspires young people to develop skills in STEM. He also leads Accenture’s annual involvement with FiRST Robotics, where company volunteers mentor students and judge competitions. Additionally, he’s a member of the Consumer Electronics Association, the U.S. Cyber Challenge and a supporter of the YearUp organization.
Bjornson holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Michigan State University.