- Adam Bauer
- Adam Sexton
- Alex Rofman
- Andy Gershon
- Andy Varley
- Asif Ahmed
- Bill Pence
- Brandon Schmidt
- Carlos Arias
- David Card
- Dev Sherlock
- Ed Bicknell
- Eric Garland
- Gerry Gerrard
- Jamie Perlman
- Jayson Atienza
- Jim Griffin
- Joe Fleischer
- Jonathan Shalit
- Josh Glazer
- Julie Hurwitz
- Kris Chen
- Lindsey Pearl
- Lyle Owerko
- Lynnel Herrera
- Marc Geiger
- Marc Reiter
- Marisa Porter
- Mark Kates
- Marty Diamond
- Paul Adams
- Paul Tollett
- Peter Mensch
- Piotr Orlov
- Ralph Simon
- Richard Gottehrer
- Rob Kaplan
- Rob Wetstone
- Rodney Jerkins
- Sanne Hagelsten
- Scott Cohen
- Simon Assaad
- Stephanie Diaz
- Steve Ferguson
- Tom Silverman
- Trey Shelton
- Usher Winslett
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Napster
Napster's senior vice president and chief technology officer first became enamored with the rapidly changing digital music landscape in the late 1990s, and has since helped to pioneer an industry that has undergone transformation at a rapid pace.
In his current role, Bill oversees the development of Napster's entire technical platform, including areas such as digital rights management, media delivery, and content management, along with corporate technology strategy, including partnership development and integration of new technologies. He relies heavily on vast technical experience, along with a keen business instinct, to lead the company towards its vision of creating better ways to discover, acquire and experience digital content over the Internet.
Bill was motivated by the opportunities presented by technological change when he first entered the digital music industry in 2000, joining Universal Music Group as lead technologist for its online music initiatives. At the time, new digital music formats and delivery models were rapidly gaining momentum among music fans, but the industry was in a state of anarchy. No clear legal precedents existed in the market, and no technological systems had been deployed which enabled the industry to monetize digital music while compensating musicians and songwriters. In his role at Universal Music Group, Bill played an integral role in setting the industry on its current course, helping form partnerships with technology providers, developing systems incorporating digital asset management, digital rights management, and royalty reporting, and deploying early trials to test the systems and collect feedback.
In 2001, Universal Music Group entered into a joint venture with Sony Music to form pressplay, an online music subscription service. Bill maintained his position as chief technology officer, and, as an original member of the executive team, led the technical effort to bring the pressplay service to market. In 2003, pressplay was acquired by Roxio and later developed into Napster. At Napster, Bill led the effort that resulted in the world's first portable music subscription service - Napster To Go.
Prior to entering the digital music industry, Bill spent nearly ten years at IBM, including eight years at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center, where he held various technology management positions. Throughout his career, he has been involved at senior levels in setting corporate strategy, assessing the impact of new technologies, and helping to develop new products and technologies to respond to changing markets.
Bill holds several U.S. patents and is a frequent speaker and participant in conferences focused on convergence and the opportunities for digital content in the Internet age. He received a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Virginia in 1984, and a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University in 1989.
Bill has a deep appreciation for music, especially classical music and opera. He also loves Jazz, and has extremely eclectic tastes in popular music.