Target Names SVP, Chief Info Security Officer

Target Corp. has hired Brad Maiorino as its SVP, chief information security officer. The move comes in the wake of a well-publicized data breach at Target, which has already led to the appointment of a new CIO, the formation of a digital advisory counsel, and the ouster of Chairman, President and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

Joining the Minneapolis-based company on June 16, Maiorino will be responsible for its information security and technology risk strategy, helping to ensure that Target, its customers and employees are shielded from internal and external information security threats. He will report to newly hired EVP and CIO Bob DeRodes.

Maiorino comes to Target from General Motors, where he was the company's chief information security and information technology risk officer. In that position, he headed the transformation of the company's global information security and IT risk organization. Before General Motors, he was the chief information security officer for General Electric.

"Having led this critical function at two of the country's largest companies, Brad is widely recognized as one of the nation's top leaders in the complex, evolving areas of information security and risk," noted DeRodes. "As an organization, we have made a commitment to our guests and our team that Target will be a retail leader in information security and protection. We believe Brad is the right person to lead that charge."

Following the 2013 data breach, which exposed the personal information of as many as 70 million Target shoppers, the company revealed steps taken to beef up its information security systems and processes while changing its security and compliance structure and practices. These steps included the improvement of monitoring, segmentation, logging and security of accounts, and the installation of application whitelisting on point-of-sale systems.

Target operates 1,924 stores, 1,797 in the United States and 127 in Canada. Target.com