Joe Clayton was CEO of Sirius from 2001 to 2004 and chairman from 2004 to 2008. He died this past Saturday at the age of 69 after a brief battle with an undisclosed illness. Clayton was involved in the launch of DirecTV, Hopper DVR and Sling TV. He was a member of the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame and former executive chairman of the board for the Consumer Technology Association.
Joe Clayton was the CEO who made the deal with Howard Stern backed by Apollo Advisors. Joe is the reason Sirius exists. He got the radios out of factories and into cars, he made the deal with Hertz and he had vision. He was also kind, he wanted everyone to do well, work at their best and be thanked. He was a very decent kind man—and he gave me tips on who would win the Kentucky Derby. Think of the world of CEO’s and consider that first and foremost Joe wanted to make sure that /you/ were doing ok!