After co-founding Omneon, Larry Kaplan helped build SDVI around a larger problem: all the work that happens before a program reaches its audience. His career follows the connections between engineers, customers, and a well-placed bench in Las Vegas.

For more than two decades, the SDVI chief marketing officer has translated servers, storage, and cloud workflows into a language executives can act on. His favorite word may be “builder.” His best material is what happens after the building begins.