AGA CIO Jim Linn Honored as CIO of the Year Finalist

Jim Linn, Chief Information Officer at AGA, has been named as a finalist for the 2022 Capital CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Awards in the Corporate category, presented by the Capital CIO Leadership Association (CapitalCIO). As a finalist in this Award category, he will be honored at the CIO Awards on August 5, 2022.

The Orbie® Award is synonymous with excellence and is presented to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the year by CapitalCIO, the preeminent peer leadership network of Capital Area chief information officers. The Orbie® signifies exceptional leadership, innovation, and vision.

This honor is thoroughly deserved. Jim has been a pillar of the American Gas Association for 24 years. He was instrumental in enabling AGA’s rapid transition to full-time remote work during the pandemic, working long hours alongside his team to enable AGA to continue to carry out its mission during those difficult times. Jim and his team work tirelessly to keep AGA at the forefront of the IT space, and to ensure that AGA employees can do their jobs as efficiently as possible, from anywhere in the world.

Jim has a long list of awards and achievements. He first became a Certified Association Executive in 2004, became a Certified Cyber Security Architect at the beginning of this year, and earned myriad awards and accolades throughout his career.

In praise of Jim’s work on behalf of the natural gas utility industry, AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert noted that Jim serves as the Executive Director of the Downstream Natural Gas Information Sharing and Analysis Center (DNG-ISAC), the premiere cyber and physical threat sharing and analysis organization for the natural gas industry in the U.S. and Canada. The DNG-ISAC facilitates situational awareness and threat communication between operators and the federal government. Jim works with the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, local law enforcement, companies and trade associations throughout the energy industry to evaluate threats to our nation’s natural gas delivery infrastructure and share mitigation techniques. Jim also coordinates cyber-readiness evaluations for AGA members, arranging consultations with peer utility cyber subject matter experts and conducting a comprehensive AGA-developed assessment that aligns with guidelines from our federal cybersecurity regulatory agency.

“America’s 2.6 million miles of natural gas pipelines and the more than 187 million Americans that they serve are safer because of the diligence of Jim Linn and his team of cyber threat analysts,” Karen said.

“Our members and the AGA leadership team appreciate Jim’s wise counsel and good humor. We are honored to have Jim as a member of the American Gas Association family and pleased to celebrate his selection by the ORBIE® Awards as a finalist for the 2022 Capital CIO of the Year®.”

AGA congratulates Jim on this hard-earned and deeply merited achievement.