Message from Dr. Lee Dahringer

Dear friends of the Lattanze Center at Loyola College in Maryland,

    I am pleased to announce that Mr. Robert DeRodes Vice President and Chief Information Officer, has been named the Information Systems Executive of the Year by the Loyola College Lattanze Center for Executive Studies in Information Systems. Mr. DeRodes is the fourteenth recipient of this annual honor and joins an elite group of award winners, each selected from a national pool for their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to their organizations and the IT profession.

    The selection committee deliberation and final recommendation was endorsed enthusiastically by the leadership of the Sellinger School of Business and Management and Loyola College’s president. It is clear that Mr. DeRodes  possesses not only extraordinary information technology and managerial skills, strategic vision and planning expertise, but combines these talents with an abiding belief that all employees must share in the successful execution of any important initiative. His work to engage and encourage those he leads to be full participants in a sustainable change process sets him apart.

    All of us at Loyola College and the corporate members of the Lattanze Center look forward to Mr. DeRodes time with us. As a Jesuit university we are guided by the tradition of excellence, discipline, creativity and a sense of responsibility to the larger world.  Mr.DeRodes’ accomplishments, work ethic, and inclusive leadership style epitomize those values and will provide an outstanding model for success for our students and the business community at large.

Sincerely,

Lee D.Dahringer
Dean, Sellinger School of Business and Management

Robert P. DeRodes Biography

    Robert P. DeRodes is executive vice president and chief information officer at The Home Depot. A veteran within the IT field, he joined Home Depot in 2002 with a mandate to “Digitize the Depot” and is responsible for all aspects of the company's Information Technology and Communication Systems.

    Before joining The Home Depot, Bob served as chief information officer for Delta Air Lines, Inc. and president and chief executive officer of Delta's wholly owned subsidiary, Delta Technology, Inc. In this role, he was responsible for managing Delta Technology's day-to-day operation, including Internet and intranet initiatives.

    A key leadership strength Bob brings to Home Depot and to the world of IT comes from his broad perspective and experiences.

    In addition to Delta Air Lines and Home Depot Bob has held key positions in Banking, as senior technology officer at Citibank for the Card Products Group,  as president of SABRE Development Services for The SABRE Group, a subsidiary of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines and with  Centerre Bancorp in St. Louis, Missouri where he held positions as both vice president of Application Systems and vice president of Strategic Planning.

    A native of Wooster, Ohio, Mr. DeRodes received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from a sister Jesuit institution, St. Louis University, and his MBA from the University of Texas.

    The technology transformation at Home Depot under Bob’s leadership, is nothing short of astounding, He has shepherded innovations that have improved productivity, customer satisfaction, business practices and shareholder value.