David Laux is among the few people lucky enough to have created his own job. He was part of the investment team at IBM that encouraged the company to throw more effort into grabbing a piece of the gaming industry, not knowing he would end up leading that initiative in 2003.

That choice might seem like a no-brainer, but at the time, video games were mostly for simple entertainment and Laux's interest was primarily as a gamer. However, Laux - who leads the venture from IBM's offices in Hazelwood - accepted the chance to lead the new venture because he believed in the potential for new and expanded uses for gaming.

His team has since helped create simulators for education with real world applications, such as training engineers to work on oil platforms. Additionally, the team develops the gaming infrastructure that has allowed for more robust playing of multiplayer games such as "EVE Online."

Laux's passion for gaming at work bleeds into his personal life, and he spends much of his free time mountain biking, go-karting and practicing karate, interests that compliment the creativity that drives his work. However, the result of the real-world games has often been more painful than not - Laux has broken every bone in his body, except his right arm.

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