October 11, 2001
UWTV series to focus on IT leaders
Information Technology Leaders, an interview series produced by the UW Business School and airing on UWTV and the Research Channel, proves that top IT executives are the sum of their experiences – both professional and personal. In revealing conversations with key managers at corporations such as Microsoft, Boeing, and AT&T Wireless Services, the focus is less on what they do in their current jobs than on how they got there – and what they learned along the way.
“This series started with a desire to expose students of information systems and information technology to executives who have excelled in this field,” says host Laura Schildkraut, lecturer and IT internship/mentorship manager at the UW Business School.
“The interviews demonstrate that success in this discipline comes in all shapes and sizes, and that, for better or worse, careers paths are no longer straight lines. They are rather a series of peaks and valleys with the occasional straight away that helps us treasure the successes and shake off the failures.”
The guests’ backgrounds are diverse – from middle-class Pacific Northwest natives to a refugee’s son from India. As a group, they represent business, technology, communications, retail, and aerospace industries.
Some of the guests include Mike Benson, CIO of AT&T Wireless, who got interested in computers while working at McDonald’s during college and Sally McKenzie, who parlayed her liberal arts education, retail experience and technical skills acquired on the fly into her position at Eddie Bauer Online. Wild Tangent founder Alex St. John doesn’t have a college degree – or even a traditional high school diploma.
Information Technology Leaders will run through the fall. For specific airdates, to stream episodes on demand and for other information about the series, visit http://www.informationtechnologyleaders.com.
