DG’s CIO Magazine has named the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority as a 2020 CIO 100 award honoree for its innovative veriScan biometric identity management system. Developed in-house by the Airports Authority’s innovation team, MWAA Labs, the system meets the congressional mandate requiring biometric identity verification on departing international travelers.

Alongside the Airports Authority’s CIO 100 accolade, Goutam Kundu, senior vice president of technology and chief information officer for the Airports Authority, has been named as one of the new members of the CIO Hall of Fame for 2020.

“The Airports Authority made foundational decisions early on that underpinned how we ensure high-quality IT services and solutions that will carry us into the future,” said Kundu. “VeriScan exemplifies this outcome, demonstrating how a strong foundation leads to the ability to quickly address airport problems through agile, innovation solutions. It is an honor to be recognized by the industry with these two awards.”

The annual CIO 100 Awards celebrate 100 organizations and the teams within them that are using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth or improving relationships with customers. The award is an acknowledged mark of enterprise excellence.

This is the second time the Airports Authority’s technology team has been awarded the CIO 100. In 2016, the team was recognized for their work on a now-patented integration platform technology, upon which the veriScan system was built. 

This year is also the 24th anniversary of CIO’s Hall of Fame program, which recognizes a group of world-class CIOs who represent an impressive collection of accomplishments as senior business technology leaders. CIO alumni judges vote to accept new members to the program each year, including 11 in 2020.

Kundu will accept the Hall of Fame award, as well as the Airports Authority’s CIO 100 award, at the 2020 CIO 100 Symposium and Awards Ceremony, in Rancho Palos Verdes, California this August. 

IDG, a leading international technology media data, and marketing services company based in Massachusetts, publishes a number of technology-related magazines including Computer World, Macworld, PC World, IT World and CIO magazine and hosts information technology events around the world.