My Friend the GM

2007 February 23

by jonathan

I don’t have a lot of people I call friends, but those I do it is always with pride. And this week, I am particularly proud of my friend Ian Rogers, who has officially been named GM of Yahoo! Music.

w00t!

Ian and I met on the intranet, swapping emails and IMs about fixing Yahoo! from the inside and just generally plotting world domination. He is one of the most intelligent and well-rounded people I know, with a wealth and diversity of experience that should be the envy of men twice his age. I know many of the big players at the intersection of media and technology, and Ian is widely acknowledged by those who know him as one of the preeminent thinkers in this incredibly fluid space.

Professionally, this is one of those things that makes you actually believe there may be justice in the world after all. And it is definitely the most exciting thing to happen to Y! Music in a long time.

Personally, I really couldn’t be happier. The longer I have known Ian, the more ways I have come to admire him. And his achievement of this latest goal has just added to that. It is truly amazing to witness someone successfuly pursue such lofty professional ambitions with both single-minded focus and genuine altruism. In all of my observations of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, I have never seen anyone achieve so much so quickly and make so many *friends* along the way. Ian’s apolitical approach to climbing the corporate ladder should be an example to us all.

When I told my mom the news Wednesday night (yes Ian, I didn’t even tell my parents until it was announced), she responded “Zoe must be so proud.” We all are pal.