CIO, EVP, and general manager of digital ventures, Starbucks
Age: 34
Rank change: New
Industry: Retail
The youngest executive in Starbucks' C-suite runs the coffee giant's global technology efforts. Gillett, a veteran of Corbis, Yahoo, CNET, and Sun Microsystems, is behind Starbucks' massive in-store free Wi-Fi push, as well as its coming digital portal that will let customers access certain paid-content sites free. The former University of Oregon offensive guard also heads up e-commerce and development of apps, including one that lets customers pay with their smartphones.
Spare time: Gillett was rated a top guild master in World of Warcraft.
NEXT: 23. Christa Davies
Last updated October 14 2010: 1:25 PM ET