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 has helped millions of readers discover the joys of audiobooks.
Audible introduces Whispersync for Voice, enabling book lovers to switch seamlessly between reading and listening without losing their place. Suddenly readers have what they crave most: more time to enjoy a great story.
Donald Katz is founder and CEO of Audible, Inc. Don 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, Don won the 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for New Jersey. Don graduated from New York University in 1974, where he studied with novelist Ralph Ellison.
Cynthia Chu joined Audible in 2015 as CFO. She most recently served as CFO for the USA Network division of Comcast NBC Universal, which followed her first divisional CFO appointment overseeing NBC’s newly acquired Oxygen Media. Prior to her long career with NBC, Cynthia worked at GE, where she earned a Six Sigma black belt qualification. A native of Hong Kong, Cynthia is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.
Sanjay joined Audible in 2015 as CIO. He has extensive operating and industry-relevant experience building highly trafficked national consumer brand websites and mobile platforms. Previously, he led diversified senior teams at Priceline before becoming CIO at both Netquote.com and Bankrate, where he oversaw the integration of those companies' complex technology stacks after their merger in 2010. From there, Sanjay became CIO at Seamless.com and then GrubHub, again building world-class tech organizations and subsequently migrating technology platforms after those companies came together in advance of GrubHub's public offering in 2014.
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. In 2015, Andy was named Audible's Chief Content officer, responsible for Audible content globally. 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. Will has been listed in The Bookseller 100 in 2013 and 2014.
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.
Wayne Nash is SVP, Facilities and Community Affairs. At the company nine years, Wayne 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.
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.