Sven W. Gerjets, 2014 Honoree
- Title
- Senior vice president of IT
- Employer
- DirecTV
- Location
- El Segundo, Calif.
- How many times have you had to reinvent yourself in your career?
- A number of times. I went from engineering to IT. Then I realized I wanted to be a CIO, so I led as many teams across IT functions as I could. I continue to spend time in business units to broaden my thinking.
- A career highlight:
- In 2003, I spent two years building an Internet startup from the ground up. The experience was great, but unfortunately it didn't pan out. This experience has given me a stronger connection to my business partners and a greater appreciation for the critical nature of the functionality we are delivering.
- Coolest current project:
- The redesign of DirecTV.com. We are creating a responsive Web design, integrating an open technology stack as well as a set of public APIs and a developer community.