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Blake Irving

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Blake Irving
Born (1959-08-08) August 8, 1959 (age 64)
EducationMBA
Alma materPepperdine University

Blake Irving is the American former Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of GoDaddy.[1] Before coming to GoDaddy in 2013, Blake worked for Yahoo! and Microsoft where he helped develop NetMeeting, MSN Messenger, and Hotmail.

Early life and education

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Blake Irving was born on August 8, 1959, to James Scott Irving and Patricia Ann Irving in Ohio.[citation needed] Irving's father was in the FBI and consequently moved the family around the country.[2] Irving lived with his brother, Scott, and his sisters, Lisa and Lori. [citation needed] Irving played the drums from the age of seven,[3] and was an artist while attending the Newbury Park High School[4] in Southern California.[2] Irving is a graduate of San Diego State University and received an MBA degree from Pepperdine University.[5] He has served as a professor at Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management,[6] and has been named a distinguished alumnus.[7]

Career

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Xerox

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Irving began working at Xerox in 1981,[8] where he provided Greek fonts for electronic typesetting.[9] He eventually became a manager at the company's Font Support Center.[10] Irving worked at PARC during the development of WYSIWYG technology,[11] Irving also worked at Oki Electric Company[12] and Compaq computer.[13]

Microsoft

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Irving was a product manager for Microsoft's telecommunications business unit in 1994,[14] and a group manager the Personal Systems Division in 1995.[15] In 1996, he was the group manager for the Internet Platform and Tools Division,[16] and he would later be named Corporate Vice President.[17] As head of the Windows Live Platform, Irving managed a $1 billion global R&D budget and oversaw development teams in the US, India, China and Europe.[18] Irving was also Corporate Vice President of MSN Communication Services[19] and Merchant Platforms.[20] Irving was also a Member of Platform Group of MessageCast Inc. and was 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!

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Irving worked at Yahoo! Inc. from May 2010 to April 1, 2012.[27] He was the Chief Product Officer,[28][29][30] and its Executive Vice President.[31] Irving left Yahoo! during Scott Thompson's CEO-ship.[32][33][34] While at Yahoo!, Irving was in charge of Yahoo! Mail, and specific theme-based Yahoo! sites like news, sports, and finance.[35]

GoDaddy

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Irving became Chief Executive Officer of GoDaddy in January 2013.[36][37][38][39] Under Irving, the company stopped airing sexually provocative commercials it had become known for, which had fed the company's reputation for sexism.[40][41] Other changes by Irving including hiring Elissa Murphy as Chief Technical Officer.[42] Irving said he would retire from the company at the end of 2017.[43]

Autodesk

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In March 2019, Autodesk appointed Blake Irving to Board of Directors effective March 22, 2019.[44]

Other activities

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Irving was an executive producer of Code: Debugging the Gender Gap, a 2015 documentary about the lack of women and people of color in computer science.[45][46][47]

References

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  1. ^ Hall, Kat (2 Aug 2019). "GoDaddy's daddy goes: Chief exec Scott Wagner steps down as hosting biz swings into the red". The Register. Retrieved 2 Aug 2019.
  2. ^ a b 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.
  3. ^ "GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving Is More Than Just a 'Product Guy'". Fortune.
  4. ^ "How Did I Get Here? Blake Irving". Bloomberg.com – via www.bloomberg.com.
  5. ^ "Baker Forum - Blake Irving - President's Office - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo". president.calpoly.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  6. ^ Yarow, Jay. "Yahoo Adds Blake Irving As Chief Product Officer". Forbes.
  7. ^ "MBA Degree Programs". bschool.pepperdine.edu.
  8. ^ "Q&A GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving on Grace Hopper and diversity in tech - Silicon Valley Business Journal". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  9. ^ Rainolds, John (2 November 1986). John Rainold's Oxford Lectures on Aristotle's Rhetoric. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 9780874132878 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "GDDY Company Profile & Executives - GoDaddy Inc. Cl A - Wall Street Journal". quotes.wsj.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  11. ^ "A brief, early history of Xerox PARC and the development of the personal computer". High Tech History. Archived from the original on 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  12. ^ "AT&T Presses Judge To Dismiss Throttling Case". Mediapost.com.
  13. ^ Harwell, Drew (1 April 2015). "The Internet's first gatekeepers are getting older, and the Web is leaving them behind". Washingtonpost.com.
  14. ^ Inc, InfoWorld Media Group (6 June 1994). "InfoWorld". InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. ^ Inc, IDG Network World (13 February 1995). "Network World". IDG Network World Inc – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ Inc, InfoWorld Media Group (18 March 1996). "InfoWorld". InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. p. 12 – via Internet Archive. {{cite magazine}}: |last= has generic name (help); Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  17. ^ ndouglas. "The new Microsoft hegemony: Kevin Johnson's reorg rundown". Gawker. Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  18. ^ "Global Availability of MSN Messenger and MSN Spaces Connects People Around the World". News Center. 7 April 2005. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  19. ^ "The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: MSN Spaces, Microsoft's new, free service, courts bloggers". old.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  20. ^ a b Critical Power Tools. SUNY Press. June 2007. ISBN 9780791481660 – via Google Books.
  21. ^ Inc, InfoWorld Media Group (4 November 1996). "InfoWorld". InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  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. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  27. ^ Iszatt-White, Marian; Saunders, Christopher (9 March 2017). Leadership. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198777113 – via Google Books.
  28. ^ "Onetime Microsoft exec Blake Irving joins Yahoo - CNET". CNET. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  29. ^ "Yahoo Confirms Hiring of Former Microsoft Exec Blake Irving as Chief Product Officer". AllThingsD. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  30. ^ "Blake Irving Joins Yahoo! as Chief Product Officer | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  31. ^ Kramer, Staci D. (2011-09-06). "Here's The New Yahoo Leadership Structure (For Now)". gigaom.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. 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 (11 December 2012). "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. ^ "Elissa Murphy, One of Yahoo's High-Profile Tech Execs, Heads to Go Daddy as CTO (Memo Time!)". AllThingsD. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  43. ^ "Kaiser Permanente and GoDaddy CEOs Share How They're Promoting Diversity and Inclusion". Fortune.
  44. ^ Inc, Autodesk. "Autodesk Appoints Blake Irving to Board of Directors". Prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2020-02-06. {{cite press release}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  45. ^ "Why women won't code is topic of new documentary". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  46. ^ "GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving Executive Producer for CODE Documentary". StreetInsider.com. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  47. ^ "GoDaddy's latest attempt to escape its sexist reputation". Fortune.com. 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
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