Rob Monster, CEO of Epik, announced the hiring of Joseph Peterson as Director of Operations at Epik. Many people in the domain industry will recognize Joseph’s name from his articles written on Domain Name Wire, as well as his well thought out written contributions in comments on domain industry blogs and forums.
This hiring is the second big announcement from Epik in the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, the company announced the acquisition of Undeveloped.com, a domain name sales marketplace. Although the value of the deal was not shared at the time of the announcement, Rob later told OnlineDomain.com the price was 4 million Euros.
The press release distributed by Epik has more information about Joseph’s background and the role he will have at the company. You can find that below:
Epik Holdings, Inc., Hires Joseph Peterson as Director of Operations
Joseph Peterson brings to Epik a new layer of domain industry expertise
Epik Holdings, Inc., is pleased to announce the hire of Joseph Peterson, who will join the Epik team as Director of Operations. In this role, Peterson will oversee process improvements, manage customer relations, coordinate outreach, advise the company and its clients on strategy, and pursue new development initiatives related to naming, online presence, and the domain market.
“What most impresses me about Epik is the team’s readiness to innovate,” said Peterson. “Here we have a global company with talent spanning Brazil, Europe, and North America; yet they’re surprisingly nimble. And while most of the domain industry is resting on its laurels, Epik management believes they have a mandate to reshape the entire field. And why not? It’s time. We have emerging markets to bring online, new domain use cases to explore, a longstanding consumer awareness gap to close, and a wealth of digital brands awaiting the right owner. There’s much to be done. I’m excited to work once more as part of a team – in particular, to explore new ways to pair names with projects, boost liquidity for domain investors, and broaden participation in the domain market overall. Epik and I were already traveling in the same direction. It just makes sense to get there together.”
Peterson comes to Epik with 6 years of professional experience in the domain industry, encompassing market analysis, branding consultancy, domain portfolio management, buyer-side brokerage, and software projects, in addition to prolific writing. Prior to discovering domain names, Peterson was a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for 8 years.
This announcement arrives on the heels of Epik’s latest acquisition, the marketplace and auction platform Undeveloped.com announced earlier this month. It was also recently reported that Epik CEO, Rob Monster, would also be spearheading a new domain-based project for cities called Smart Web in partnership with DigitalTown and operators of descriptive TLD registries. Commenting on this latest hire, Rob Monster said:
“I am beyond delighted to welcome Joseph into the fast-growing Epik team as Director of Operations. This appointment comes during a time of accelerating global growth. Long-time industry observers may recognize Joseph for his sharp intellect, keen wit, and strong opinions, mainly as a result of his work as blogger on Domain Name Wire and through prolific commentary across industry blogs. However, through personal discussion, I have also come to know Joseph as a visionary with a strategic mind, very high attention to detail, a prolific work ethic, and uncompromising personal and professional integrity. I look forward to partnering with Joseph to do amazing things.”
For further information, please contact Rob Monster, CEO of Epik, at rob@epik.com or Joseph Peterson, Epik’s new Director of Operations, at joseph@epik.com.
Congratulations Rob, Team Epik and Joseph!
Ditto the congrats to Joseph and the good folks at Epik. I’ve enjoyed Joseph’s comments on domaining, and Epik is a very promising company. Best wishes, Joseph, on a great new adventure!
@Kevin + M. Menius,
Thanks, guys. Looking forward to seeing what we can do.
Excellent hire by Epik.
& congrats to Joseph who will add much value to Epik’s operations.
Thanks, Steve
Congrats Joseph! And congrats to Epik. Great fit in my opinion.
Congrats Joseph!
Always enjoy reading your posts, usually takes me a full day to parse all of the valuable info you provide.
Thanks, Tom.
Part of what makes the domain industry fun is that there’s so much to geek out about. Not just names and market prices and languages and TLDs and companies either. Domain names and the web are a microcosm, as if the whole universe of human interest were condensed into strings of letters and numbers (and the odd hyphen). Every topic under the sun – every subject whatsoever – shows up in this field.
Congrats Joseph – best of luck at Epic!
Thanks, Striker.
Thanks guys — Great addition to the team at an exciting time for Epik and a CRITICAL time for the industry. Thank for your cooperation as Epik work to drain the Domain swamp, if you will. Make Domaining Great Again #MGDA
“Peterson was a submarine officer”
Perfectly qualified to comment on new gTLD values!
Few people in this industry have so much good will as Joseph Peterson, I am so happy for him, I wish him a huge success.
BTW, THANKS for all your help Joseph these past years, you have always been present to test my new services, give me constructive comments or simply send me friendly notes.
Thanks, François. I’ve always admired your eagerness to innovate.
It was great hanging out and chatting with Joseph Peterson at NamesCon in Las Vegas this year. My hat goes off to you and your new position at Epik. Congrats! Well deserved.
Thanks, Eric
Congrats Joseph! They made a great choice getting you on the team. All the best with the new role.
Whenever Joseph Peterson responds to anything that I post, my first reaction is: “I should send this guy a cheque.” Now I’ll be able to do so, at least indirectly.
Together with Victor Pitts joining MMX as director of premium sales, Joseph Peterson’s move to Epik highlights the Seattle area’s dominant position as the center of the universe for the domain-name industry.
On warm afternoons, it is impossible to take a boat out onto Lake Washington without spotting someone from the industry, or a building where they live or work.
With all this talent and expertise, perhaps someone in the industry is in a strong enough position to buy one of Uniregistry’s failing TLDs and then to turn it around. What would be a good TLD to start with? Let’s bring .SEXY back.
In the meantime, congratulations and best wishes to Joseph Peterson and Victor Pitts, and to Epik and MMX too.
Congratulations, Joseph!
Even more improvements for Epik!
@Luke, A Mitchell, NinjaDomain
Thanks, everybody. Oh, and regarding “I should send this guy a cheque.” Feel free!
Woo Hoo! Go Joseph!! 🙂
Congrats Joseph! Looking forward to you bringing some innovative action to the masses 🙂