Another former VITA executive lands job in private IT industry | Govt-and-politics

Demetrias Rodgers, who had been serving as acting chief information officer at VITA, will become chief technology officer at Planet Technologies for its business with state and local governments, educational institutions and commercial operations.

Rodgers resigned this month as deputy chief operating officer, his job before assuming interim COO duties after Jon Ozovek left the state IT agency in mid-February.

Ozovek, who resigned after Gov. Glenn Youngkin replaced Nelson Moe as chief information officer, last week announced he is becoming chief transformation officer at Iron Bow Technologies, based in Reston.

The departure of the top two operating officers at VITA comes as the agency transitions to new leadership under Robert “Bob” Osmond, a former technology officer at the Virginia Department of Transportation whom Youngkin appointed chief information officer after his first pick, Phil Wittmer, left less than a month into the job.

Like Ozovek, Rodgers relied on his state experience to move into the private IT industry in the greater Washington, D.C., area.

Rodgers had worked at VITA for six years, including 2½ as deputy COO, and 10 years at Northrop Grumman Corp., which ran the IT networks for Virginia’s executive branch agencies under a contract that the state let lapse in 2018 after 12 years.

“With his exceptional ability to lead IT operations, we believe Demetrias will help guide Planet in his next chapter of growth and success,” Planet Executive Vice-President Steve Winters said.

Planet Technologies, based in Germantown, Md., is a consultant on Microsoft cloud and related services that have changed the way government, institutional and private customers manage their information technology networks.

Rodgers was a leader at VITA in creating a strategy for state government to migrate its IT services to so-called cloud services that are not tied to local computer servers, but are connected by the internet to servers across the country and world.

“Planet’s track record as a trusted adviser and honest broker to government made joining the company an easy decision,” he said. “I am excited to be part of an organization with an exceptional reputation for designing and deploying complex cloud solutions to meet the various needs of both government and commercial customers.”