Corporate Finalists

Tremaine Butler, Chief Information Officer for Touchstone Communities, leads enterprise technology, cybersecurity, data management, and digital transformation strategy across Texas. With more than 20 years of healthcare IT leadership experience, Tremaine is recognized for aligning technology with operational excellence, developing high-performing teams, and driving innovation in complex healthcare environments. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, an MBA, and is a finalist for the 2026 Central Texas CIO ORBIE Awards.

At Touchstone Communities, I have focused on transforming IT into a strategic business partner that drives operational value, resilience, and innovation. Under my leadership, we strengthened cybersecurity governance, modernized infrastructure strategy, improved enterprise collaboration, advanced analytics initiatives, and launched a phased transition toward a more internally aligned IT operating model. Beyond technology outcomes, one of our greatest accomplishments has been building a high-trust culture centered on accountability, growth, and ownership. By investing in people, aligning technology with business strategy, and fostering collaboration across the organization, we elevated both organizational confidence in IT and the long-term capability of the technology team.

GS Jha serves as Global CIO, CISO, and Chief AI Officer at QuantumScape Inc., a publicly traded EV battery technology pioneer. A servant leader and published author of Securing the Enterprise, he is under contract with Apress for Decision Imperative on enterprise AI leadership. GS speaks at industry conferences, mentors emerging CIOs and technology executives, and serves on a nonprofit board. He believes technology leadership is, at its core, an act of service to others.

When I joined QuantumScape as Global CIO, CISO, and Chief AI Officer in February 2025, I inherited three fragmented technology organizations, a reactive security posture, and no enterprise AI program. Within twelve months, by aligning and influencing cross-functional teams across Finance, Operations, Manufacturing, and HR, I unified the organization, delivered over $2M in annualized savings, achieved zero major security incidents, and launched an enterprise-wide AI program with board-level visibility. I led with transparency, compassion, and servant leadership through a painful restructuring that produced zero voluntary attrition. Technology transformation is a human endeavor. Get the people right, and the outcomes follow.

Shane McDaniel has served as the City of Seguin's inaugural Chief Information Officer since 2018, bringing 30 years of experience spanning the Air Force, national intelligence, Fortune 500s, and municipal government. He has led Seguin's technology modernization, aligning resilient infrastructure with community-focused service delivery. A proud native Texan, published author, and TAGITM Past President, Shane holds CGCIO, PMP, and CISM certifications. Under his leadership, Seguin IT has earned more than 30 national awards for innovation.

As CIO for the City of Seguin, I am proud that our greatest accomplishments center on transforming IT from a back-office function into a strategic citywide enabler. Through enterprise systems modernization, a robust GIS platform, and strengthened cybersecurity governance, we reduced operational risk while improving service delivery for one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. We positioned IT as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and City Council, aligning technology investments with long-term strategic goals and improving compliance readiness and business continuity. Most importantly, we built institutional capacity: a more secure, agile, and future-ready municipality prepared for the complexity that sustained growth demands.

Danisa Tumbusch is playfully serious about technology and the humans behind it. As Chief Technology Officer at Alamo Drafthouse, she has led a full-stack modernization of the platforms guests and teammates rely on, while steering the company's post-acquisition integration with Sony Pictures. With two decades leading engineering and product teams, Dani is known less for any single system than for building high-trust teams that deliver, and for protecting culture while scaling the technology beneath it.

When I joined Alamo Drafthouse, the technology behind a beloved 25-year-old brand had quietly fallen behind. Over the last few years, my team rebuilt it from the ground up. We started with the foundation, the modern infrastructure that makes everything built on top of it faster and more flexible, then modernized our web and mobile platforms, point of sale, and payments. On top of that, we took on one of the biggest operational changes in the company's history: a new service model that lets guests order for themselves, on a platform we'll keep building for years. We're just getting started.

Monica Esparza Younger is Chief Information Officer at Electric Power Engineers, bringing 25+ years of experience leading global digital, ERP, and enterprise transformations. She has held senior leadership roles driving large-scale modernization, AI-driven innovation, and operational excellence across finance, supply chain, and operations. Known for building high-performing teams and aligning technology to business strategy, Monica specializes in delivering scalable platforms that enable growth, strengthen security and compliance, and position organizations for a data-driven, AI-enabled future.

Over 25+ years, I have led large-scale digital, ERP, and operational transformations across global organizations, consistently building and developing high-performing teams. Most recently, in my first eight months at EPE, I aligned an existing IT leadership team around a clear operating model, launched a company-wide ERP modernization initiative with strong governance and execution discipline, and established the foundation for a modern data and AI platform. My leadership focuses on driving results, fostering diverse teams, and aligning technology to business outcomes—positioning organizations for scalable growth, operational excellence, and a data-driven, AI-enabled future.