Blake Irving

Blake Irving
Born (1959-08-08) August 8, 1959
Residence San Luis Obispo, California
Education MBA
Alma mater Pepperdine University
Occupation GoDaddy CEO
Employer GoDaddy

Blake Irving is the Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of the GoDaddy group of companies, which provide web services. Before coming to GoDaddy in 2013, Blake served Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Yahoo!. Before Yahoo!, Blake spent 15 years at Microsoft creating consumer products, like NetMeeting and MSN Messenger, and expanding Hotmail.

Early life and education

Blake Irving was born on August 8, 1959, to James Scott Irving and Patricia Ann Irving in Ohio. Irving's father was in the FBI and consequently moved the family around the country.[1] Irving lived with his brother, Scott, and his sisters, Lisa and Lori. Irving played the drums from the age of seven,[2] and was an artist while attending the Newbury Park High School[3] in Southern California.[1] Irving is a graduate of San Diego State University and received an MBA degree from Pepperdine University.[4] He has served as a professor at Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management,[5] and has been named a distinguished alumni.[6]

Career

Xerox

Irving started his professional career at Xerox in 1981,[7] where he provided Greek fonts for electronic typesetting.[8] He eventually became a manager at the company’s Font Support Center.[9] Irving was a part of the team in the early PARC days of WYSIWIG,[10] Irving also worked at Oki Electric Company[11] and Compaq computer.[12]

Microsoft

Irving was a product manager for Microsoft’s telecommunications business unit in 1994,[13] and a group manager the Personal Systems Division in 1995.[14] In 1996, he was the group manager for the Internet Platform and Tools Division,[15] and he would later be named a vice president. As Corporate Vice President[16] of the Windows Live Platform Blake led the company’s global Internet development and operations, managing a $1 billion global R&D budget and overseeing development teams in the US, India, China and Europe.[17] Irving also served as Corporate Vice President of MSN Communication Services[18][19] Merchant Platforms,[20] and Member of Platform Group of MessageCast Inc. Blake was also involved in overseeing other Microsoft products including NetMeeting,[21] Outlook Express,[20] MSN Messenger,[22] Hotmail,[23] Xbox Live,[24] and other Microsoft applications.[25][26]

Yahoo!

Blake Irving served as the Chief Product Officer of Yahoo! Inc.[27][28][29] from May 2010 to April 2012[30] and its Executive Vice President[31] from May 2010 to April 1, 2012. Irving left Yahoo! during Scott Thompson's CEO-ship.[32][33][34] During his time at Yahoo! Irving was put in charge of the email, in addition to the theme-based Yahoo! sites like news, sports, and finance.[35]

GoDaddy

Blake Irving gave up his semi-retirement to become the Chief Executive Office at the GoDaddy Group Inc.[36][37][38][39] and officially joined January 7, 2013. Under Blake’s leadership, the company has ditched the sexually provocative commercials[40] in order to try to repair the company’s reputation for sexism,[41] stating that he believed the majority of his target clients were women.[42] Later commercials ended up bringing in a higher volume of new business once they changed to a less sexual theme.[43] Irving also made some substantial changes within the company,[44][45] including hiring Elissa Murphy as Chief Technical Officer, the first woman to hold that position at GoDaddy.[46][47] His leadership style has included the implementation of transparency through face time between employees and management,[48]and has implemented programs focused on diversity,[49] closing the women’s pay gap,[50] and adapting to changes in immigration policies.[51] In 2015 Irving oversaw the IPO of the company.[52] Irving will retire from the company at the end of 2017.[53]

Movements

Women in Technology

Blake was an executive producer of CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap, a documentary that — through interviews, animation and clever flashpoints in popular culture — examines the reasons why more girls and people of color don’t seek opportunities in computer science. The documentary explores how cultural mindsets, stereotypes, educational hurdles and sexism all play roles in what has been described as a national crisis.[54][55][56] In 2015,[57] Blake Irving took the stage at Grace Hopper as a keynote speaker where he released GoDaddy’s gender data on stage. Blake’s commitment to understanding the gender gap resulted in positive remarks from audience members in person and via Twitter.[58]

Net Neutrality

Blake Irving believes that the internet is the greatest force for economic and social change.[59][60] In 2014, the FCC made a decision to alter the way the internet operates by permitting individually negotiated data rates for websites, thus creating fast and slow lanes for internet traffic. In response to this, Irving sent an sent an open letter to the FCC Chairman, Thomas Wheeler.[61][62] Irving is a supporter of Net Neutrality.[63]

References

  1. 1 2 Bryant, Adam (2016-11-11). "Blake Irving of GoDaddy: At the Top, You Get to Set the Tone". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  2. ↑ "GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving Is More Than Just a 'Product Guy'". Fortune.
  3. ↑ "How Did I Get Here? Blake Irving" – via www.bloomberg.com.
  4. ↑ "Baker Forum - Blake Irving - President's Office - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo". president.calpoly.edu. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  5. ↑ Yarow, Jay. "Yahoo Adds Blake Irving As Chief Product Officer". Forbes.
  6. ↑ "MBA Degree Programs". bschool.pepperdine.edu.
  7. ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2015/10/16/q-a-with-godaddys-blake-irving-on-the-companys.html
  8. ↑ Rainolds, John (2 November 1986). "John Rainold's Oxford Lectures on Aristotle's Rhetoric". University of Delaware Press – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ "GDDY Company Profile & Executives - GoDaddy Inc. Cl A - Wall Street Journal". quotes.wsj.com.
  10. ↑ "A brief, early history of Xerox PARC and the development of the personal computer". High Tech History. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  11. ↑ "AT&T Presses Judge To Dismiss Throttling Case". www.mediapost.com.
  12. ↑ Harwell, Drew (1 April 2015). "The Internet's first gatekeepers are getting older, and the Web is leaving them behind" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  13. ↑ Inc, InfoWorld Media Group (6 June 1994). "InfoWorld". InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. – via Google Books.
  14. ↑ Inc, IDG Network World (13 February 1995). "Network World". IDG Network World Inc – via Google Books.
  15. ↑ Inc, InfoWorld Media Group (18 March 1996). "InfoWorld". InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. – via Google Books.
  16. ↑ ndouglas. "The new Microsoft hegemony: Kevin Johnson's reorg rundown". Gawker. Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  17. ↑ "Global Availability of MSN Messenger and MSN Spaces Connects People Around the World". News Center. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  18. ↑ "The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: MSN Spaces, Microsoft's new, free service, courts bloggers". old.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  19. ↑ Corp., Microsoft. "MSN Introduces New Communication Service That Enables Blogging, Picture Sharing and More". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  20. 1 2 "Critical Power Tools". SUNY Press – via Google Books.
  21. ↑ Inc, InfoWorld Media Group (4 November 1996). "InfoWorld". InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. – via Google Books.
  22. ↑ "Ex-Yahoo Product Boss Blake Irving Named Go Daddy CEO". Business Insider.
  23. ↑ "It's not your father's GoDaddy, says new CEO". Seattle Times. 29 August 2015.
  24. ↑ "The Seattle Times: Microsoft: Making online connections the Microsoft way". old.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  25. ↑ "Gates: We're entering 'live era' of software - CNET". CNET. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  26. ↑ "Knock, knock, knock . ." IT Business. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  27. ↑ "Onetime Microsoft exec Blake Irving joins Yahoo - CNET". CNET. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  28. ↑ "Yahoo Confirms Hiring of Former Microsoft Exec Blake Irving as Chief Product Officer". AllThingsD. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  29. ↑ "Blake Irving Joins Yahoo! as Chief Product Officer | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  30. ↑ Iszatt-White, Marian; Saunders, Christopher (9 March 2017). "Leadership". Oxford University Press – via Google Books.
  31. ↑ Kramer, Staci D. (2011-09-06). "Here's The New Yahoo Leadership Structure (For Now)". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  32. ↑ "Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson to Step Down [REPORT]". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  33. ↑ Stewart, James B. (2012-05-18). "The Undoing of Scott Thompson at Yahoo — Common Sense". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  34. ↑ Pepitone, Julianne. "Yahoo confirms CEO is out after resume scandal". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  35. ↑ "Blake Irving, Yahoo chief product officer, quits". SF Gate.
  36. ↑ "Former Yahoo Exec Blake Irving Named CEO of Domain Giant Go Daddy". AllThingsD. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  37. ↑ "Go Daddy hires former Microsoft and Yahoo exec Blake Irving as next CEO". Engadget. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  38. ↑ "Scottsdale's GoDaddy.com Reaffirms Company Vision And Announces New CEO: Blake Irving". AZ Tech Beat. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  39. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid. "GoDaddy Doubles Down On Product With A New CEO: Ex-Yahoo Product Chief Blake Irving". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  40. ↑ "New Go Daddy CEO Blake Irving Says The Commercials Need To Change". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  41. ↑ "The Man Who Is Attempting To Repair GoDaddy's Sexist Reputation". Fast Company. 29 January 2015.
  42. ↑ Stromberg, Lisen (31 January 2017). "Work PAUSE Thrive: How to Pause for Parenthood Without Killing Your Career". BenBella Books, Inc. – via Google Books.
  43. ↑ Lautenslager, Al (21 July 2014). "Market Like You Mean It: Engage Customers, Create Brand Believers, and Gain Fans for Everything You Sell". Entrepreneur Press – via Google Books.
  44. ↑ "GoDaddy's new CEO wants to change the world, one domain name at a time". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  45. ↑ "The Man Who Is Attempting To Repair GoDaddy's Sexist Reputation". Fast Company. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  46. ↑ "Elissa Murphy, One of Yahoo's High-Profile Tech Execs, Heads to Go Daddy as CTO (Memo Time!)". AllThingsD. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  47. ↑ "Blake Irving on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  48. ↑ Arenofsky, Janice (16 January 2017). "Work–Life Balance". ABC-CLIO – via Google Books.
  49. ↑ "Exclusive: Why GoDaddy Promoted 30% More Women This Year". Fortune.
  50. ↑ Alba, Davey. "GoDaddy Reveals Gender Pay Gaps at Grace Hopper Celebration". Wired.
  51. ↑ Taylor, Harriet (3 February 2017). "GoDaddy CEO: If we can't hire skilled immigrants, they'll set up their own Silicon Valleys in their home countries". CNBC.
  52. ↑ "GoDaddy sets share price for possible public offering". Arizona Central.
  53. ↑ "Kaiser Permanente and GoDaddy CEOs Share How They're Promoting Diversity and Inclusion". Fortune.
  54. ↑ "Why women won't code is topic of new documentary". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  55. ↑ "GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving Executive Producer for CODE Documentary". StreetInsider.com. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  56. ↑ "GoDaddy's latest attempt to escape its sexist reputation". Fortune. 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  57. ↑ "Q&A GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving on Grace Hopper and diversity in tech - Silicon Valley Business Journal". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  58. ↑ "CEO GoDaddy gets props from Grace Hopper '15 goers". AZ Tech Beat. 2015-10-15. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  59. ↑ "Net Neutrality and the American dream for SMBs - The Garage". Garage. 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  60. ↑ "Net Neutrality Is Fair Play for Small Business". Inc.com. 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  61. ↑ "Blake Irving on Net Neutrality". BIT.PARTS. Chris Ambler.
  62. ↑ "GoDaddy CEO Sends Letter to FCC | DomainInvesting.com". DomainInvesting.com. 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  63. ↑ "Net Neutrality Is Fair Play for Small Business". Inc. Magazine.
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