Mr. Kirk A. Law
Vice President Engineering, Management Products Organization NetApp Inc.
"Attacking problems and challenges with “Perspective”: That is what my Purdue engineering education helped to instill in me. It teaches one to keep an open mind, holding on to objectivity to seek new and conclusive data, and to look for innovative solutions to challenges placed in the path ahead. Engineering is very much a “team sport” in the real world and you have to be prepared to interact, allow your perspectives to be challenged, and adapt to the changing world around you. For me, there are many aspects of an engineering education that help to prepare one for several aspects “life” itself and how to react to the expected and unexpected."
As an executive leader at Network Appliance (NetApp), Kirk Law is responsible for strategy, planning, development, and technology partnering of storage systems technologies associated with the primary products of NetApp. He has held positions as the vice president of systems engineering as well as vice president of OEM systems engineering since starting at NetApp in 2002.
Before joining NetApp, Mr. Law was vice president of systems and platform development for Cacheflow Systems, Inc., a web acceleration company. Prior to this, Mr. Law was with SGI, formerly Silicon Graphics Computer Systems. There he had a primary role in SGI’s push to be a premier digital media systems and solution provider to entertainment media customers such as Lucas Film, Digital Domain, Disney, CBS, etc. Mr. Law became a senior director of engineering, achieving a wide range of results: development of ASICs, managing system platform developments, managing software teams and products, and managing technical relationships with various partners and customers.
Mr. Law began his career at the David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, New Jersey. He then moved to a research and development center for the RCA Corporation. There he received several patents in digital TV processing technologies.
Mr. Law is a member of the Sigma Phi fraternity where he served as the Gamma Chi chapter president, chaired the social action committee, and served as a regional officer. Mr. Law is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and Eta Kappa Nu (HKN).
Mr. Law received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1981 and 1983, respectively.
Before joining NetApp, Mr. Law was vice president of systems and platform development for Cacheflow Systems, Inc., a web acceleration company. Prior to this, Mr. Law was with SGI, formerly Silicon Graphics Computer Systems. There he had a primary role in SGI’s push to be a premier digital media systems and solution provider to entertainment media customers such as Lucas Film, Digital Domain, Disney, CBS, etc. Mr. Law became a senior director of engineering, achieving a wide range of results: development of ASICs, managing system platform developments, managing software teams and products, and managing technical relationships with various partners and customers.
Mr. Law began his career at the David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, New Jersey. He then moved to a research and development center for the RCA Corporation. There he received several patents in digital TV processing technologies.
Mr. Law is a member of the Sigma Phi fraternity where he served as the Gamma Chi chapter president, chaired the social action committee, and served as a regional officer. Mr. Law is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and Eta Kappa Nu (HKN).
Mr. Law received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1981 and 1983, respectively.