Ian Rogers

Summary

Ian Rogers, Chief Experience Officer at Ledger, has a prolific career graph. Prior, he was Senior Director of iTunes, Apple Music and Chief Digital Officer at LVMH for five years, working with a portfolio of the world’s most sought after luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Sephora, and Hennessy.

Biography

Raised in Goshen, Indiana, Ian Rogers graduated from Goshen High School in 1990 and undertook Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Indiana University, Bloomington. Alongside his formal education, Ian began building a few of the earliest music-related websites when the Beastie Boys noticed a fan website he had built. There was no looking back!! The hip-hop band hired him to helm their official website and go on tour with them, a life-changing career move for the small town boy who became a father at seventeen. Rogers intuitively perceived a future where music was distributed online and began uploading live MP3 files from the Beastie Boy concerts. He didn’t know then that it would pave the path to Yahoo as Vice President and General Manager of Yahoo Music. In five years, Ian Rogers graduated to Chief Executive Officer of Topspin Media — a platform that connects artists to fans via the Internet.

In 2013, Ian Rogers joined music streaming service Beats Music as Chief Executive. The following year, he became Senior Director of Apple Music after the company’s reported $3 billion acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics. Here, Rogers spearheaded Apple’s foray into music streaming service and was instrumental in the creation of online radio station Beats 1, which featured Elton John, Dr. Dre and Pharrell Williams as guests. In August 2014, Ian was named Senior Director of Apple Music, launched on June 30, 2015.

However, he resigned from Apple in August 2015 and shortly joined LVMH as Chief Digital Officer where he developed the luxury group’s e-retail business, data management, and digital clientele. “Ian will bring his extensive experience in high-end digital ventures and his innovation-driven spirit to develop LVMH leadership in the digital luxury field,” LVMH Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Arnault said in a press release. With the mentorship of Toni Belloni and Alexandre Arnault, Rogers’ career graph includes working with brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior to establish an e-commerce strategy. Importantly, he helped the conglomerate integrate digitalization with an eye to the codes of luxury. He also launched 24S, LVMH multi-brand e-commerce platform and explored the usage of Data and Artificial Intelligence which he firmly believed would drive customer satisfaction, reduce waste, and drive sales in the coming years. He also worked to coordinate online sales and marketing among the conglomerate’s more than 75 brands — a challenging brief at a company where brands have historically been given a long leash to pursue their own strategies.

In October 2020, however, Rogers left LVMH to join cryptocurrency security firm Ledger, founded in Paris in 2014 to make hardware wallets for digital assets. As Chief Experience Officer, Ian Rogers is helping to bring cryptocurrency ownership, privacy and security to the masses as opposed to the relatively niche activity it is today. And even as he continues to transform cryptocurrency at Ledger, Rogers maintains his strong relationships in luxury and fashion, serving on the boards of Lyst and Dr. Martens, and consulting LVMH on its digital strategy.

Vision

Throughout his career, in music, luxury fashion and hardware wallets for digital assets, Rogers has focused on visionary technological innovation and making digitalisation a seamless process for everyone.

Recognition and Awards

A 1994 alumnus of the computer science program at Indiana University, Ian Rogers was honored with the acclaimed Luddy Distinguished Alumni Award by the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering.

References

1. Profile of Ian Rogers Ledger.com
2. Ian Rogers Business of Fashion
3. The career graph of Ian Rogers L’Officiel
4. What we’re hearing about the new music-streaming service Apple is developing in secret Business Insider
5. Goshen native Ian Rogers leaves Apple for Paris-based LVMH Goshen News
6. Beats 1 Lead Executive Ian Rogers Leaves Apple Mac Rumours
7. From LVMH To Ledger Medium
8. LVMH digital chief to join French fintech start-up Financial Times
9. NFT Paris profiles Ian Rogers NFT Paris
10. Ian Rogers – Ledger CXO on Web3 Adoption, User Experience, Vinyl Collecting and More martinhyu.com