CIO John Burke Named IT Executive of the Year by DFW SIM Chapter
Chief Information Officer honored during SIM award ceremony
DALLAS – April 5, 2011 – Ambit Energy announced today that their CIO John Burke, has been
selected IT Executive of the Year by The Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter of the Society for
Information Management (DFW SIM Chapter) for helping advance the future of Information
Technology. Burke received the award at a dinner ceremony the evening of April 4, presented
by the award’s selection committee chair Jack Becker.
“Ambit Energy’s success is due in great part to the company’s IT department. Their premier
platform is a key differentiator that has not only allowed the company to grow, but to shine in
quality of service in delivery, billing and customer services,” said Jack Dowling, DFW SIM judge
and past award recipient. “Based on his leadership of the IT department, John Burke rated high
on all award criteria and was the clear winner for this award.”
Burke was nominated for this award by Don Harman of Reflex Systems for his work in leading
next generation technology initiatives, including the areas of virtualization and cloud computing
at Ambit Energy. As the CIO at Ambit Energy, Burke’s responsibilities include leading and
managing all IT staff, systems and strategy, in addition to the company’s project management
organization. He oversees software development, production support, infrastructure and risk,
and all billing and transaction management.
“John Burke is exceptionally smart and an incredible leader. He deserves this award,” said Jere
Thompson Jr., CEO and co-founder of Ambit Energy. “Under his creation and direction, Ambit
Energy’s systems enable our employees and Independent Consultants to provide accurate and
responsive service to our 500,000+ customers. These same internally developed systems
enable the company to efficiently deploy affordable energy services into new markets and easily
accommodate the addition of hundreds of new customers each day.”
The DFW SIM Chapter established the IT Executive of the Year Award in 1998 to recognize
excellence in IT management within the Dallas/Fort Worth area. An independent panel of judges
rates the nominees according to seven basic performance criteria. Included among these
criteria are:
- Demonstrate creative use of IT to strengthen the competitive position of their organization
- Improve the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of IT/IS services
- Elevate IT to a proactive role in the organization’s overall strategic plan
- Demonstrate uncommon leadership within the IT community.
Burke has earned a variety of accolades for his accomplishments with the company. Most
recently, he was named one of the Computerworld “Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2010,” as well
as one of the InformationWeek “Top 25 CTOs of 2010.”