Blake Irving

Blake Irving
Born	(1959-08-08) August 8, 1959 Ohio, United States
Occupation	Technology executive
Years active	1981–present
Known for	Former CEO of GoDaddy; senior leadership roles at Microsoft and Yahoo!

Blake Irving is a former American Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of GoDaddy. Prior to his tenure at GoDaddy starting in 2013, he held senior leadership positions at Yahoo! and Microsoft, where he contributed to the development of products such as NetMeeting, MSN Messenger, and Hotmail.

Early life and education

Born on August 8, 1959, in Ohio, Irving experienced frequent relocations throughout his youth due to his father's role with the FBI. Growing up alongside three siblings, he cultivated early passions for music and the arts. He completed his undergraduate studies at San Diego State University and later obtained an MBA from Pepperdine University. Subsequently, he joined Pepperdine's Graziadio School of Business and Management as a faculty member and was honored as a distinguished alumnus.

Xerox

Irving began his professional career at Xerox in 1981, initially working on Greek font development for electronic typesetting before advancing to manage the company's Font Support Center. His contributions included involvement in the advancement of WYSIWYG technology at PARC. He also held roles at Oki Electric Company and Compaq Computer.

Microsoft

Joining Microsoft in 1994 as a product manager for the telecommunications division, Irving was promoted in 1995 to group manager within the Personal Systems Division. By 1996, he was leading the Internet Platform and Tools Division and eventually attained the position of Corporate Vice President. As head of the Windows Live Platform, he oversaw a global R&D budget exceeding $1 billion and managed teams located in the United States, India, China, and Europe. Additionally, he served as Corporate Vice President for MSN Communication Services and Merchant Platforms.

Irving was instrumental in shaping Microsoft’s online communication offerings through leadership roles on products including NetMeeting, Outlook Express, MSN Messenger, Hotmail, and Xbox Live.

Yahoo!

From May 2010 until April 2012, Irving acted as Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President at Yahoo! Inc., where he directed major product lines such as Yahoo! Mail along with thematic content areas like news, sports, and finance. His departure coincided with the period when Scott Thompson was CEO.

GoDaddy

In January 2013, Irving assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer at GoDaddy. He redefined the company’s marketing approach by eliminating its previously controversial sexually suggestive advertisements, aiming to improve its image regarding gender sensitivity. During his leadership, GoDaddy prioritized innovation and inclusion, highlighted by appointing Elissa Murphy as Chief Technical Officer. Irving announced his retirement from GoDaddy effective at the close of 2017.

Autodesk

In March 2019, Blake Irving joined the Board of Directors at Autodesk, with his appointment taking effect on March 22, 2019.

Other activities

Irving served as executive producer for Code: Debugging the Gender Gap, a documentary released in 2015 that explores the lack of diversity among women and minorities within computer science fields.