You'll find our leadership team hanging out at happy hour, on the playing field and in the cafeteria line like the rest of us. Get to know them before you start rubbing elbows with them in the office.
Meet our LeadershipAfter years of jogging around Central Park with a cassette player, an idea Don had long imagined was finally possible thanks to the possibility of transmitting digital files over the internet.
Audible debuts the world's first commercially available portable digital audio player, an example of which now rests in the Smithsonian.
Leveraging Amazon's reach and technology innovations have helped millions of readers discovery the joys of audiobooks.
ACX makes creating audiobooks easier by establishing a network that connects rights holders (authors, agents, and publishers) with producers (actors and studios). To date more than 25,000 audiobooks have been created thanks to ACX.
Donald Katz is founder and CEO of Audible, Inc. Donald Katz was previously a journalist and author for 20 years, writing five books and serving as contributing editor at Rolling Stone and other publications; his work won a National Magazine Award and was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award. For his leadership of the company since inception, Katz won the 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for New Jersey. Katz graduated from New York University in 1974, where he studied with novelist Ralph Ellison.
Wayne Nash is SVP, Human Resources, responsible for talent acquisition and development, performance management, compensation and rewards, and the alignment of business objectives across Audible worldwide. At the company eight years, Wayne also heads up facilities management and operations, champions company culture, and leads Audible's charitable engagement and other community-focused efforts. Wayne has over 20 years of experience in the Information Technology field, spending ten of those in multiple technology roles at PSEG, including HR functions within technology, prior to joining Audible.
As a Chief Product and Marketing Officer (CPMO), Louis leads our global product development and go-to-market strategy efforts. Recently Louis was named a Top-100 US CMO by Peer 100. Prior to joining Audible, Louis was Chief Product and Marketing Officer (CPMO) at Yodle, where he helped drive an annual growth rate of over 50%. As Senior Vice-President, Global Products at Monster Worldwide, Louis led user and data-centric product innovations across 53 countries. Louis is also co-author of a worldwide patent for a system that tracks and rewards consumer participation in viral marketing campaigns.
As CTO and Chief Scientist, Guy drives technology innovation at Audible. He came aboard in 1996 as VP Technology and led the architecture and development of Audible's innovative mobile audio and Internet commerce technologies. Prior to joining Audible, Guy worked in research and development for over 10 years at AT&T Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies, where his areas of focus included networked delivery of multimedia documents and interactive television. Today at Audible, Guy is focused on opportunities in wireless, automotive, in-home entertainment, content discovery, and social media.
Andy Gaies began working with Audible in 2011 as a lawyer in the Amazon legal department. In 2012, Andy joined Audible as Executive Vice President of Business Affairs, primarily focused on content and rights acquisition for Audible. Prior to joining Amazon, Andy was a corporate attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. He has also worked as a management consultant for The Boston Consulting Group. Andy is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School.
Beth Anderson has been at Audible since its earliest days and is currently EVP and Publisher. Before joining Audible in 1996, Beth spent 15 years in college text and trade book publishing at Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Beth has served on the board of the Audio Publishers Association since 2000, chairing committees on memberships, research, and its annual conference. She earned a BA from Cornell University and serves on the university's Library Advisory Board and Council.
Will Lopes is currently EVP International Operations. Having joined Audible during the energetic internet growth period of 1999, Will has worked across the marketing, product development, and operations disciplines. Will was most recently the Managing Director of Audible UK, and before that served as Vice President of Business Development for four years, during which time he managed Audible's mobile and social networking strategies, created new member acquisition channels, and developed strategic partnerships with brands including Ford, GM, Microsoft, and Phillips.
Merritt Farren is EVP, Legal. An eight-year Amazon veteran, Merritt was formerly Associate General Counsel, Digital Media and New Technologies at Amazon.com, leading Legal Affairs for Amazon's start-up film studio Amazon Studios. Before that, he oversaw legal affairs for a number of strategic businesses and initiatives at Amazon, including launch of Amazon's Kindle eBook device business and Amazon's eBook sales business; launch of Amazon's digital publishing business and Kindle Digital Publishing; launch of Amazon's Digital Film distribution businesses Amazon Instant Video and Prime Instant Video; and launch of Amazon's digital music business Amazon MP3 in the US and Europe. Merritt began his career practicing corporate law at the Los Angeles law firm Tuttle and Taylor. Merritt then worked for The Walt Disney Company for over 11 years, followed by educational Internet startup Lightspan.com and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Immediately before joining Amazon, Merritt was based in Paris, France where he was affiliated with the French law firm Duclos, Thorne. Merritt holds a BA in International Relations from Stanford University (awarded with honors) and a JD from Boalt Hall School of Law, UC Berkeley.
Anthony Nash is SVP, Finance. Tony is responsible for financial analytics across Audible's global operations. He oversees Audible's overall global financial planning, operational oversight, risk management, tax, treasury and financial reporting. Tony, a CPA who also has an MBA in finance, joined Audible in 1997. He has over 25 years of professional experience in a variety of finance-related positions in a wide range of industries.