ERVAN RODGERS
AUTHENTICITY IS THE KEY

Ervan Rodgers II, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Designer Brands, credits a college internship project as the moment he fell in love with tech. It is also the reason he is passionate about cultivating and supporting the next generation of IT leaders. Future tech leaders are a key focus of the 2023 CIO Tomorrow Conference: “Leveling Up the Next Generation of IT.” 

Editor's note: Ervan Rodgers, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Designer Brands and 2023 CIO Tomorrow Committee Chair, was the featured leader at IT Martini Today on August 9th, 2023.

Rodgers’s commitment to young people can be traced back to his days as an intern. He received an assignment to get a PC up and running in three days. The PC needed a bunch of things like a motherboard, but Rodgers didn’t know how computers worked or operated. He just knew he’d have to get the help of different departments to meet his goal. One department he went to for help was sales, and they offered some assistance if he did the busy work of calling customers to try and get service renewals. At the end of four hours, he had raised about $150,000. 

“And they were like, whoa, how did you do that? We just gave you easy work because we didn't think that you would be able to do it,” Rodgers said with a laugh. “And so it opened up a whole new department that they created for the company long-term and they gave me some pieces to get the computer running… like the motherboard.” 

“I learned how to put the computer together and just like that, it was love. I just started going out buying computer parts and started putting them together myself. At the same time, I helped create new efficiencies,” Rodgers said. “I fell in love with technology, but now that I look back on it, those are the early steps of being a CIO, being able to take our departments and bring them together and find efficiencies, etcetera.” 

DJ Chief Information Officer 

Rodgers said being able to bring his authentic self to every situation and solving complex problems are his keys to success and what keeps him excited about the work. 

Rodgers’ father, a musician, encouraged his musical interests and Rodgers spent his early years as a drummer in church, then a mixtape master in college, and eventually became a DJ, but hid the musical side of him as his career in tech took off. He believed adopting a serious, straight-laced persona would further his career. 

“I went through a leadership program called the African American Leadership Academy with Donna James and really got a chance to, you know, rediscover myself and found out that in order to get to the heights that I was seeking, I needed to lean in on just being Ervan and take the love of IT, the love of music and just tying it all together to a point where I'm authentically me. It's a benefit to the company, myself, and those around me.” 

“Be your authentic self” is the advice Rodgers regularly gives to the students and young IT professionals he encounters. Rodgers still DJs and outlined the parallels between the art and being an IT leader in a recent TedX talk where he discusses the three pillars of leadership that apply to both DJing a great set and leading a great company: be the heart and soul, know the lay of the land while having effective crisis crowd control, and have a foundation of grace and empathy. 

Rodgers stressed that he doesn’t just focus on his success stories with young people but shares his not-so-successful moments, including a moment where a lack of authenticity led him to his best failure - a $20 million project that failed. Rodgers explained as a program manager he focused on following protocol, allowing his direct manager to communicate the risks of the project up the chain. When vital information was not communicated, he regretted his hesitation in speaking up. 

“I learned I should have stepped around that process and made sure that everybody was aware of the risk… and it has changed how I go forward. I said ‘I'll never, ever let that happen again,’ and it hasn’t. And so, when you roll with me, you get it all - the good, the bad and we all know where we stand and we can make an informed decision. It's the art of being transparent,” he said.  

CIO Tomorrow + The Future of IT 

When pressed on what he’s most looking forward to at the CIO Tomorrow Conference, Rodgers, chairperson of this year’s event, enthusiastically said he looked forward to it all, but if forced to choose, he pointed to a challenge he will issue to each CIO in attendance: actively engage with the students in attendance. He also is looking forward to an interview he did with Ratmir Timashev who recently made a $110 million donation to The Ohio State University for The Center for Software Innovation. 

“I think that segment is gonna be on fire, and it's gonna encourage others that have access to that kind of capital to continue to pay it forward,” he said. 

Rodgers contends there are two things current and future leaders need to do to stay prepared for the future – ingest daily information about their business and industry to identify trends, what’s happening in the world, and how technology can support them; and collaborate with other IT pros through volunteer opportunities.  

“[It’s important to] understand how others are attacking the challenges and the opportunities, and [use that information to] create a more well-rounded point of view versus just kind of shooting from the hip.” 

That collaboration, Rodgers asserts, is key to creating and maintaining a diverse, attractive talent pool here in Central Ohio.

“In order to make this a better society, I want people to reach back and bring somebody forward. Bring somebody forward that you wouldn't typically tap on and not just do it once, but continuously do it,” Rodgers said. “You will feel a sense of accomplishment. You will feel that gratitude coming your way. And it will make you a stronger person, a stronger leader.”