How Did I Get Here?

Jody Gerson

Chairman and chief executive officer, Universal Music Publishing Group
from
  • Education
  • The Baldwin School for Girls, Bryn Mawr, Pa., class of 1979
  • Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., class of 1983
  • Work Experience
  • 1983–90
    Archivist, song plugger, Chappell Music, Chappell/Warner Music
  • 1990–2008
    Head of East Coast creative department, head of West Coast creative department, EMI Music Publishing
  • 2008–14
    Co-president, Sony/ATV Music Publishing
  • 2015–Present
    Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group
  • Life Lessons
  • “People will never know you for your office. They’ll know you for the songs you pitched or the artist you signed.”
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  • “It’s all about integrity, authenticity, and honesty. I learned through watching people not have those qualities.”
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  • “Don’t let anybody get in your way.”
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  • “My mom had a great life, but she went from her dad’s house to her husband’s house. She didn’t want that for me.”
  • “My father lost his money and bounced my tuition check. I went from being that suburban girl who didn’t have a worry in the world to getting it together and taking care of myself.”
  • With Luther Vandross (center) and music industry execs (left to right) Bob Flax, Martin Bandier, and Shep Gordon, 1991
  • “I signed Alicia Keys—she was 14. For years, she was making records that never came out. I remember the chairman of the company saying, ‘You know, she may be talented, but it doesn’t mean that she’ll ever have success.’ ”
  • Celebrating the 50-year collaboration between Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin (second from right), with Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, 2016
  • At the Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala in New York with Lady Gaga, 2015
  • At her dad’s nightclub, with her brother, Bill (left), and Diana Ross, 1969
  • “My dad and grandfather had a nightclub in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, called the Latin Casino. I sat ringside at Sunday matinee shows every week of my life: the Supremes, Richard Pryor, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin.”
  • “I got to listen to songs all day—I had to splice them into reel-to-reels. It gave me knowledge of the catalog.”
  • “I heard about Lady Gaga—everyone else at Sony had passed on her. She told me she was going to be the biggest artist in the world, and that it wouldn’t be about money, it would be about fame and art. I believed her, I supported her, and I paid her a lot of money.”
  • With Bandier and rapper Speech, 1992
  • “I’m the first woman to run a global music company. We manage catalogs like Coldplay and Adele, Mumford & Sons and U2, as well as the Beach Boys, Prince, and Paul Simon. It’s a billion-dollar company with 800 people.”