JAY-Z announced on Friday that Desiree Perez has been named CEO of Roc Nation. Previously the COO of the company, Perez has been with JAY's Roc Nation since the beginning. Her appointment is effective immediately and will see her leading development across all elements of the company, including music, philanthropy, TV and film, publishing, and management.
She will be taking over from the previous CEO Jay Brown, who has now been named Vice Chairman of Roc Nation. The news comes just a day after she was named Executive of the Year at Billboard's 2019 Women in Music award ceremony. Introduced to the stage by Brown, who called her "fearless" and "a true humanitarian," Perez said she was where she's at today because of the "support, encouragement, and equality" at Roc Nation.
During her acceptance speech, she made sure to thank her Roc Nation colleagues and specifically highlighted JAY-Z's impact on her life and career. "You've taught me to trust myself to do what's right and not whats easiest," she said. "Thank you to our family. Rihanna, I'm forever grateful for you. Meek Mill, Uzi, Gotti, Joe, Khaled, Alicia, Kyrie; the list goes on and so much incredible talent that I get to work with everyday. I love them." Additionally, she showed her love to co-founder and president of A&R Ty Ty Smith, and her husband Juan Perez, who is the head of Roc Nation Sports.
Check out her acceptance speech at Billboard's 2019 Women in Music award ceremony above.
