We are thrilled to welcome Patrick Newbold, Chief Information Officer and Director of the Office of Information Technology at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as the keynote speaker for the 2026 FORUM Disruptive Tech Awards. Patrick leads technology strategy and operations for one of the largest and most complex healthcare enterprises in the world, responsible for aligning technology, cybersecurity, and digital services with CMS's mission to serve millions of beneficiaries, providers, and partners nationwide. His career spans the full breadth of federal technology leadership — from serving as CIO of the Social Security Administration, where he co-founded the Office of Transformation and drove agency-wide digital modernization, to Deputy CIO for Strategy at NASA, to Deputy CIO at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he led IT service delivery for more than 37,000 users.

Patrick is one of the most decorated and respected technology leaders in the federal government today. A 2026 Fed 100 Award winner and recipient of the 2024 Service to the Citizen Award — recognized for using innovation and data to break down organizational barriers — he also serves on the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) Board, where he helps evaluate and guide federal agency modernization proposals under the Modernizing Government Technology Act. Throughout his career, Patrick has been a consistent and passionate advocate for modernizing government through practical, mission-driven technology — strengthening digital services, improving resilience and security, and enabling better outcomes through data and innovation. He is exactly the kind of leader the Disruptive Tech Summit was built to celebrate, and we could not be more excited to have him on the stage on March 17th.

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