Luke Wood is an American music executive and musician, known as being the president of both Beats Electronics from 2012 to 2020 and DGC Records from 2007 to 2010. He was also a guitarist for the 1990s alt-rock bands Sammy and Girls Against Boys.

Early life and education

Luke grew up in Pittsford, a suburb of Rochester, New York, and graduated from Wilson Magnet High School in 1987. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in American Studies in 1991 from Wesleyan University and is a member of the university's board of trustees.

Career

Prior to Beats Electronics, Wood was chief strategy officer of Interscope Geffen A&M and president of its rock imprint DGC Records. As DGC's president, Wood was responsible for all Artists & Repertoire (A&R) and marketing decisions and for developing and guiding the label's artists including Weezer,

All-American Rejects The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma, formed in 1999.Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...

, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Before working in A&R, Wood was involved in the firm's marketing and publicity. In 1991, Wood served as a director of publicity for Geffen Records, where he represented bands including Nirvana and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

. He later served as director of marketing for Geffen Records and as vice president of A&R at

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated until 200 ...

. Wood joined Interscope Records in 2003 (during its merger with DreamWorks) as executive vice president of A&R, where he signed artists such as

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind. They h ...

and

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

. He later became the President of DGC Records from 2007 to 2010. In September 2014, Wood was added to Fender Guitar's board of directors.

Beats Electronics

Wood joined Beats Electronics in February 2011 as president and COO, working directly with Dr. Dre and Iovine on product development and overseeing day-to-day operations at the company. Wood was instrumental in Beats Electronics’ acquisition of subscription music service MOG in July 2012 which was later launched into Beats Music in January 2014. Under Luke Wood's leadership, in August 2014, Beats Electronics and Beats Music were acquired by Apple Inc. for $3 billion. In April 2020, Wood stepped down as president of Beats Electronics.

Music career

Wood was guitarist for Sammy, a 1990s alt-rock band that released three albums: ''Debut Album'' (1994) and ''Kings of the Island Empire'' (1995), released by

Smells Like Records Smells Like Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey, formed by Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley in 1993. Groups that have recorded under the label include Blonde Redhead, Cat Power, The Raincoats, and The Rondelles. ...

, and ''Tales of Great Neck Glory'' (1996), released by Geffen/DGC Records.

Personal life

Wood is married to Sophia Nardin, a writer he met during his time at Wesleyan University. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters. In August 2014, shortly after Apple's acquisition of Beats for $3 billion, Wood purchased Silvertop, a residence in Los Angeles, for $8.55 million. The house was designed by architect

John Lautner John Edward Lautner (16 July 1911 – 24 October 1994) was an American architect. Following an apprenticeship in the mid-1930s with the Taliesin Fellowship led by Frank Lloyd Wright, Lautner opened his own practice in 1938, where he worked for th ...

and built in 1956 for inventor

Kenneth Reiner Kenneth Reiner (April 2, 1916 September 12, 2011) was an American industrialist, philanthropist and inventor best known for constructing Silvertop, a landmark which is recognized one of the prominent architectural works of John Lautner. He al ...

, who never occupied it as he eventually went bankrupt. The unfinished property was sold to a neighbouring couple in 1974, who made the house habitable and lived in it for forty years. When Wood acquired Silvertop, he commissioned architect

Barbara Bestor Barbara Bestor (born 1966) is an American architect based in Los Angeles, California. She is the principal of Bestor Architecture, founded in 1992. Examples of her work include the Beats Electronics Headquarters in Culver City, Blackbirds, small l ...

, who had designed the Beats Electronics offices in LA, to renovate the property. The renovations were completed in 2018.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Luke American music industry executives Living people American alternative rock musicians American rock guitarists American male guitarists Wesleyan University alumni A&R people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)