With the Mid-South taking an increasingly significant role in technology, it’s important to identify who the movers and shakers are in the region who are leading the way. This year’s recipients of the 2026 MEMTECH honors are among those making a mark in how local organizations look to the future, not only for themselves but as part of the global expansion of technology. Meet these eight visionaries, who will receive their awards on February 21, 2026, at the FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms Park. For more information go to MEMTECHawards.com.
photograph courtesy imc companies
Cyber Security Leader of the Year
David Ulloa, Ph.D.
Chief Information Security Officer, IMC Companies
What changes do you anticipate in your sector in the next year and how should the industry react to them?
I anticipate continued budget constraints across the market, driven largely by global economic pressures. This environment will push leadership teams to operate leaner while still increasing productivity. As organizations adapt, AI will become a central part of that transformation — not as a buzzword, but as a practical tool woven into everyday workflows.
From a cybersecurity perspective, we’re already seeing AI reshape the landscape on both sides. Malicious actors are leveraging these technologies to scale attacks faster and with more sophistication. The industry can’t afford to fall behind. We need to adopt AI where it genuinely adds value, while also doubling down on human expertise. Tools can enhance our capabilities, but they can’t replace the critical thinking, intuition, and judgment of well-trained teams.
I believe 2026 will mark a turning point — a year where the integration between the workforce and AI becomes so seamless that, in a sense, we operate like “cyborgs.” The organizations that thrive will be the ones that embrace this evolution thoughtfully, balancing innovation with continuous investment in people.
What’s your most significant achievement?
My most significant achievement has been building meaningful work from the ground up — not just the final outcome, but the resilience, learning, and leadership it demanded along the way. That’s been true both in my role as a CISO and in my service as a lay pastor. In both spaces, I’ve had the privilege of shaping something that didn’t exist before, guiding people through challenges, and creating environments where others can grow. The impact isn’t just professional or spiritual — it’s deeply personal, because it reflects who I strive to be in every part of my life.
Who or what inspires you?
This is always a challenging question because I’ve been inspired by many people throughout my life. Beyond my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the person who has influenced me most is the Apostle Paul. His life embodies resilience, conviction, and purpose. He was incredibly well-prepared, intellectually sharp, and unwavering in his mission. What inspires me most is the way he honored God through service — investing in communities, mentoring others, and boldly testifying to what he believed. His example pushes me to lead with integrity, courage, and a heart for others.
photograph by WILEY BROWN
Technology Entrepreneur of the Year
Sylvester Tate
President and CEO, Tate Computer Systems, Inc.
What changes do you anticipate in your sector in the next year and how should the industry react to them?
Looking ahead to the coming year, I anticipate several important changes in my sector. The most prominent is the continued integration of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation, into everyday operations. These innovations are expected to streamline processes, enhance data analysis, and improve overall efficiency.
To respond effectively, the industry should invest in workforce up-skilling and re-skilling to ensure employees are prepared to work alongside new technologies. Companies should also prioritize adaptability, fostering a culture that embraces change and continuous improvement. Proactively engaging with new regulations and sustainability initiatives will be crucial to maintaining competitiveness and building trust with stakeholders.
What’s your most significant achievement?
My most significant achievement has been leading a cross-functional team to successfully implement a major digital transformation project. This initiative not only improved operational efficiency but also enhanced the customer experience, resulting in measurable growth and increased satisfaction. The project required strategic vision, collaboration, and resilience in the face of challenges, making this successful completion especially rewarding.
Who or what inspires you?
I’m inspired by individuals who demonstrate unwavering commitment to innovation and positive change. Leaders like Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft) and organizations that drive technological advancements motivate me to pursue excellence and continuous learning. Additionally, my colleagues’ passion and creativity are a daily source of inspiration, reminding me of the power of collaboration and shared purpose.
photograph courtesy uthsc
Chief Information Officer / Information Technology Leader - Public Sector
Ammar Ammar
Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief Technology and Information Security Officer, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center – Information Technology Services
What changes do you anticipate in your sector in the next year and how should the industry react to them?
The biggest thing in the tech sector is the AI revolution. It will change how all business is done in every vertical. Right now, we are seeing it implemented in research, learning, and other places such as human-to-human communication. This will not slow down as creative minds continue to explore new use cases and models become better.
What’s your most significant achievement?
I’ve been really proud of building and rebuilding teams to help move the University’s tech needs to meet its strategic goals. As the needs change, we need to either step up our talent or find outside strategic partnerships to help get us to our end goals.
Who or what inspires you?
I take a lot of my daily inspiration from our mission. UT Health Science Center does a lot of great work in rural health to people who have not had a medical appointment in a while. We provide dental health to people in need. We have a lot of great programs that help people in Memphis and across the state. It shows that the work we do is impactful and changes lives for the better. I am truly happy to be a part of it.
photograph courtesy university of memphis
Technology Educator of the Year
Brodrick Stigall
Assistant Professor of Teaching, Department of Computer Science, The University of Memphis
I wasn’t born here, but Memphis is my home. A graduate of Memphis City Schools, I headed to the University of Tennessee, where I initially avoided computer science. I didn’t want to follow in the footsteps and shadow of my older sister, Calandra, so I majored in psychology. However, many side ventures into building video games and websites during my first year pulled me into computer science.
Various internships at AutoZone and BMW further entrenched me in the world of technology, and my affiliation with Memphis Challenge encouraged me to come home after graduation. I have had the privilege of working for International Paper and later returned to AutoZone.
My graduate studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology opened my eyes to the human-centered side of computing, and I saw a focus on people where psychology meets technology. I had no intention of being a professor at the time, but the potential to have a seat at the table where I saw no one who looked like me was a calling more than a decision. For my Ph.D., I wanted to study Human-Computer Interaction, but found no programs near Memphis.
I moved to South Carolina and studied Human-Centered Computing at Clemson University. After my first year, I was one of ten recipients of the inaugural Graduate International Research Experience funded by the National Science Foundation. I spent the latter half of 2019 at the University of Melbourne and published my first paper at the Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction.
I added the Engineering Science Education Certificate to my studies at Clemson upon my return. This certificate’s goal was to give researchers skills in pedagogy and educational research. I loved teaching as a TA and wanted to ensure that I had the proper skills to be a great professor if I ever got the opportunity.
Family circumstances brought me back home to Memphis, where I joined the University of Memphis as a teaching professor. Being home has given me the opportunity to work in my community and tailor my research and teaching focus to the issues I know personally. I see myself in my students and try to relate the real world to what I’m teaching in the lecture hall. To this end, my research and teaching are aligned: I want to prepare the next generation of computer scientists. I leverage my experience and connections, having worked at two of the Fortune 500 companies in Memphis, to inform my students of how they can succeed.
It may seem counterintuitive, but I believe the future of tech is about people more than ever before. AI has changed the landscape of education and business, and the successful graduate and the successful business are aligned in their need to leverage this new technology to augment creativity and productivity. The future will not be about how technical you are, but about how good the technologist is at using tech, whatever tech may be, to solve problems.
photograph by Wendy Adams
Community Leader
Jasbir Dhaliwal, Ph.D.
Executive Director, FedEx Institute of Technology
What changes do you anticipate in your sector in the next year and how should the industry react to them?
Many technologies are moving at such a fast pace now and our federal innovation system is also being dramatically transformed at the same time. The institutions, companies, and cities that can adapt and change quickly will win and succeed. In my role leading the research and innovation enterprise of the city’s major comprehensive research university, I must think strategically about the university’s role in helping our region come out as a winner. Times of change are opportunities. As a community, we must come out of this as a stronger technology city as technology is the primary driver of economic growth and social development in the future.
What’s your most significant achievement?
Helping the University of Memphis become a top-tier Carnegie R1 research university with a strong technology and innovation culture. We have kept the city relevant and a national player for all the major technological advances of the last decade — be it blockchains, data science, drones, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, regenerative agriculture, sustainability, quantum computing, and many others.
Who or what inspires you?
Our research faculty and research students, who I serve, inspire me daily. Their innovative ideas, passion for our community, and entrepreneurial spirit are truly stunning. Not a single day passes where I go home not having learned so much. I am blessed to be learning from them continuously.
photograph courtesy codecrew
Trailblazer
Meka Egwuekwe
CEO, CodeCrew
What changes do you anticipate in your sector in the next year and how should the industry react to them?
Over the next year, the most significant shift in my sector will be the acceleration of AI becoming embedded in everyday work, learning, and decision-making. We are moving quickly from “AI as a tool” to “AI as infrastructure.” That creates both tremendous opportunity and real risk.
The industry must react by prioritizing access, literacy, and responsibility at the same time. Access, so that communities that have historically been left out of technology revolutions are not again positioned only as consumers rather than creators. Literacy, so that people understand not just how to use AI tools, but how they work, where bias can show up, and how to apply them ethically. And responsibility, so organizations do not move faster than their values, particularly when technology impacts jobs, education, and human rights.
At CodeCrew, we believe the future of tech is not just about innovation, but about who innovation is for. The industry should be investing deeply in workforce pathways, K–12 education, and community-based organizations that can translate rapidly changing technology into real economic opportunity.
What’s your most significant achievement?
Beyond establishing my family, my most significant achievement is co-founding CodeCrew and helping grow it into a trusted institution that has served thousands of students across Memphis and beyond. What began as a small effort to expose young people to computer science has become a multi-generational pipeline for talent, confidence, and opportunity.
I’m especially proud that CodeCrew has stayed rooted in community while expanding its impact. We work with K–12 students, adults changing careers, educators, employers, and public-sector leaders, all with the goal of making technology a tool for economic mobility and civic good. Seeing our alumni build careers, start companies, and come back to mentor the next generation is the most meaningful measure of success I can imagine.
Who or what inspires you?
I am inspired by people who build pathways where none previously existed. That includes educators, organizers, and entrepreneurs who quietly do the hard work of opening doors for others.
I’m also deeply inspired by our students. Many of them are navigating economic uncertainty, systemic barriers, and rapid technological change, yet they show up with curiosity, resilience, and ambition. Watching them claim space and demonstrate agency in an industry that was not designed with them in mind continually reminds me why this work matters.
Finally, Memphis itself inspires me. This city has always been a place of creativity, struggle, and reinvention.
It continues to beat to its own drum and show the world what’s possible. Being part of shaping its future as a technology and innovation hub rooted in equity and agency is both a responsibility and an honor.
photograph courtesy varsity spirit
Crisis Leadership
Rick Brown
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Varsity Spirit
Varsity Spirit operates at the intersection of technology, manufacturing, and live events. I anticipate the next year will bring meaningful acceleration in three areas: intelligent automation, customer experience personalization, and operational resilience. In made-to-order apparel and event production, speed and accuracy are just as critical as creativity and quality. Advances in AI, workflow automation, and data integration will continue to shorten delivery cycles while improving margin control. At the same time, customers — schools, colleges, professional teams, and individual participants — will expect increasingly seamless digital experiences, whether they are ordering custom uniforms, registering for and attending events, or shopping onsite or online.
The industry’s response should be proactive rather than reactive. Organizations must invest not only in modern platforms but also in the connective tissue between systems — ensuring data flows cleanly from e-commerce to manufacturing to fulfillment to event operations. Equally important is preparing teams for change through strong governance, clear communication, and a willingness to rethink long-standing processes. Technology alone does not create advantage; disciplined execution and adoption do.
When I reflect on my most significant achievements, large-scale systems and strategic application delivery certainly stand out. However, what I value most is building and leading high-performing technology teams. Assembling teams that are aligned around a shared mission, committed to best practices, and confident in using modern technologies to solve real problems has consistently delivered the greatest impact. Strong teams outlast individual projects. They adapt, innovate, and continue to raise the bar long after a system goes live. Creating environments where people are empowered, accountable, and motivated to “get the job done the right way” is an accomplishment I carry with pride. I am inspired by leaders who combine innovation with empathy — those who challenge convention while maintaining a positive, constructive approach to leading people. The leaders I admire most are decisive but collaborative, technically curious but grounded in business realities. They understand that sustainable success comes from developing people as intentionally as products or platforms.
Personally, I am driven by leading teams that build and implement technology with a visible, positive impact on the organization. There is something uniquely motivating about seeing a solution move from concept to execution and then watching it simplify work, improve customer experiences, or unlock new growth opportunities. Whether it’s enabling faster custom apparel production, improving event and onsite retail operations, or delivering integrated ecommerce experiences, the ultimate measure of success is how technology helps people — employees and customers alike — do more, better, and with greater confidence and efficiency.
As technology continues to evolve, my focus remains the same: Align innovation with purpose, invest in people, and deliver solutions that meaningfully move the organization forward.
photograph courtesy baptist health sciences university
Chief Information Officer / Information Technology Leader – Private Sector
Kapil Bajaj
Chief Technology Officer, Baptist Health Sciences University
What changes do you anticipate in your sector in the next year and how should the industry react to them?
Over the next year, higher education — particularly in health sciences — will experience accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence, data-driven decision-making, and cloud-based infrastructure. These shifts will fundamentally change how institutions support student success, manage operations, and deliver instruction. AI will move beyond experimentation into practical-use cases such as early-alert systems for at-risk students, personalized learning pathways, and predictive analytics for enrollment and retention. At the same time, cybersecurity, data privacy, and regulatory compliance will become even more critical as institutions rely more heavily on integrated digital ecosystems.
The industry must respond by being both intentional and collaborative. Rather than adopting technology for its own sake, institutions should align innovation with clear outcomes — student achievement, workforce readiness, and operational resilience. Investment in digital literacy for faculty and staff will be just as important as investment in platforms. Additionally, partnerships with healthcare systems, peer institutions, and industry leaders will be essential to share best practices, manage costs, and ensure technologies are implemented responsibly. Those who approach this period with strategic focus and a willingness to adapt will be best positioned to thrive in an increasingly competitive and technology-driven environment.
What’s your most significant achievement?
My most significant achievement has been guiding the evolution of an existing technology team into a forward-looking organization ready for the future of higher education. Rather than focusing on disruption for its own sake, the work centered on trust, clarity, and shared purpose — aligning people’s strengths with the university’s changing priorities. By approaching change with transparency and intention, we created a culture that embraces innovation while honoring institutional knowledge. That foundation has enabled the team to partner more deeply with faculty and leadership, anticipate needs, and deliver lasting impact for students and the broader campus community. Vision becomes reality when people are aligned around purpose and empowered to grow into what’s next.
Who or what inspires you?
I’m inspired by people who lead with purpose — those who see change not as a disruption, but as an opportunity to make things better for others. In my work, that inspiration often comes from students striving to build their futures, educators committed to shaping the next generation of healthcare professionals, and teams who quietly do the hard work that keeps institutions moving forward. I’m also inspired by leaders who listen first, act with integrity, and are willing to rethink long-standing assumptions in service of a bigger vision. Being surrounded by people who care deeply about impact and outcomes pushes me to lead with intention and to keep looking ahead.
