Ian Rogers Transitions to Advisory Role at LVMH

Ian Rogers, chief digital officer at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is transitioning to an advisory role at the luxury giant and joining Ledger, a Paris-based tech start-up.

In a blog post and podcast, Rogers said he will become chief experience officer at Ledger, which protects digital assets such as cryptocurrency.

He said he will oversee the “b-to-c business at Ledger including product, marketing and sales. Our job is to make sure Ledger products are not only secure but also easy to use. We also want to educate and help raise the tide to float all boats in the cryptocurrency movement.”

Founded in 2014, Ledger set out to create “secure solutions for blockchain applications” and now boasts more than 130 employees in Paris, Vierzon, France, and San Francisco, according to its web site. It has sold more than 1.5 million digital wallets for cryptocurrencies.

An exuberant executive known to arrive at some meetings on skateboard, Rogers joined LVMH in September 2015 from Apple, where he briefly headed up the launch of Apple Music. His mission was to explore new opportunities for the group in the digital sphere.

He has also been chief executive officer of Beats Music, a maker of high-end headphones, and ceo of Topspin Media. Prior to that, he founded Mediacode, which was purchased by Yahoo, where he became vice president and general manager of music. Rogers has also served as a web master for Nullsoft and Beastie Boys.

Recapping his accomplishments in his blog post, Rogers said the “luxury business itself hasn’t changed, but the ways we create awareness and sell are changing dramatically, so at LVMH we have made many adaptations.

“When I joined LVMH, there was disagreement on strategies regarding online distribution which have since been rationalized, agreed upon, and are being executed. We have started to build a practice around data and artificial intelligence, which I believe will drive customer satisfaction, reduce waste and drive sales in the coming years,” he added.

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