Gerard Purcell, 2014 Honoree
- Title
- Senior vice president of IT
- Employer
- Avnet
- Location
- Phoenix
- How many times have you had to reinvent yourself in your career?
- I've developed expertise in three areas. At Gateway Computers, I was director of operations responsible for all EMEA PC manufacturing. I have also led operational excellence functions and lean methodologies at many organizations. At Avnet, I developed additional business process knowledge and IT skills to support a services business.
- Coolest current project:
- We are introducing SAP HANA into our business intelligence landscape to provide predictive analytics capabilities and trend data.
- How do you evaluate emerging technologies?
- We identify emerging technologies as part of our strategic plan. We then select one or two that are relevant to Avnet. A leader is appointed to own the evaluation process. This process includes market research, vendor reviews and a proof of concept.