IT officials as the Avengers

Former Ohio CIO Ervan Rodgers made no secret of his affinity for comic books, often beaming into virtual events during the pandemic from his home office decorated with memorabilia like Captain America’s shield and the Black Panther’s mask. And during one event last May, Rodgers — who’s now a senior vice president and CIO at Designer Brands — described his ideal superteam:

“I see a semblance of The Avengers, with your CISO, your [chief data officer], your chief privacy officer, your CIOs, etc. So you’re having a collective conversation all while having governance around it to ensure from a cybersecurity perspective, a privacy standpoint, all those things are taken into a place and it’s not just a single-threat siloed approach,” he said.

While that collection of officials might not be equipped to stop evil mutants or intergalactic tyrants, Rodgers said they are critical to securing data-intensive projects, like a an automated service Ohio launched that connects parents of newborn babies to any services and insurance available to them in real time.