Stephen Gillett

Stephen Gillett was named Symantec’s chief operating officer in December 2012. He is responsible for the company’s strategic marketing and communications, along with IT operations. He was a member of Symantec’s board of directors starting in January 2012 but left the board to assume his duties as COO. Prior to joining Symantec, Stephen was Best Buy’s executive vice president and president, Best Buy Digital, Global Marketing and Strategy. Prior to joining Best Buy, Stephen was executive vice president, Digital Ventures, and chief information officer at Starbucks. A key member of Starbucks’ transformation team, Stephen designed and led the company’s efforts to enhance the overall global business operations and improve the customer experience through the use of innovative technology and digital experiences worldwide. In 2011, while at Starbucks, Stephen was named to Fortune’s “Executive Dream Team” as one of only two CIOs among the 25 executives recognized. That same year, he was named Information Week’s “Chief of the Year” and to Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list. He also was the recipient of the 2012 Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellowship. Before joining Starbucks, Stephen was chief information officer for Corbis, a digital media company owned by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. In that role, Stephen was responsible for global technology, engineering and leading platform efforts for Corbis' e-commerce and multimedia licensing business. Prior to Corbis, Stephen spent nearly a decade in Silicon Valley, holding senior technology positions with Yahoo! and CNET Networks. Stephen, an avid gamer, is widely considered one of the most innovative Guild Masters in World of Warcraft, the massive multi-player online role-playing game where millions of gamers enter a virtual world creating guilds, engaging socially, questing and celebrating achievements. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon and an MBA from San Francisco State University. He joined the board of directors for Symantec Corp. at the beginning of 2012. He is a 2010 Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.