Thomas L. Phillips Jr.
Thomas L. Phillips, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Harvard University (undergraduate);[1] Stanford University (MBA)[1] |
| Occupations | media founder, publisher, executive |
Tom Phillips (formally Thomas L. Phillips Jr.), is an American businessman who has been involved in media and publishing ventures. Phillips co-founded the humor magazine Spy with editors Graydon Carter and Kurt Andersen, which debuted in October, 1986.[1][2][3] He went on to found Starwave, a now-defunct internet company. He led internet ventures for ABC News and ESPN, and worked at Google and Deja News.[not verified in body]
Early life and education
[edit]Phillips is the son of Thomas L. Phillips, former CEO and chairman of Raytheon.[1] In 1977[citation needed] he received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University.[1] He received an MBA from Stanford University in 1981.[1][4]
Career
[edit]Following business school, Phillips worked in venture capital.[1] While in this role, Phillips began raising funds for the humor magazine Spy, which debuted in October 1986. The project received $2.8-3.0 million in capital, including $30,000 from his father Thomas L. Phillips. Phillips became a co-founder of Spy along with editors Graydon Carter and Kurt Andersen, and served as its publisher.[1][2][3]
Phillips later founded Starwave, a software and website company that Disney bought. Following the acquisition, Phillips served as the president of internet ventures at both ABC News and ESPN.[citation needed]
In 1998, Phillips was hired as the CEO of Deja.com, and subsequently sold the company's core assets to Google and eBay.[citation needed] By 2006, he was serving in a position with Google, as director of print advertising, with responsibilities that included managing Google client advertising in newspapers.[5] He led Google's acquisition of DoubleClick, where he then served as director of search and analytics.[citation needed] In 2009, Phillips left Google to become CEO of Distillery.[citation needed]
Personal life
[edit]Phillips has been described as "lanky". In his thirties, while working for Spy, he was described as riding a motorcycle to work.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Crains NY Staff (1988). "Thomas Phillips, 32 / Chief Executive, Media6Degrees" (awardee biosketch). Crains New York Business (CrainsNewYork.com). Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- 1 2 Buckley, Christopher (December 3, 2006). "Bonfire of Inanities". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- 1 2 Blum, David (1989). "Spying on 'Spy'". New York (April 17, 1989): 32–41, esp. p. 35. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- ↑ Stanford GSB Staff (August 18, 2000) [June 1996]. "Starwave Senior Vice President Tom Phillips, MBA '81". GSB.Stanford.edu. Stanford, CA: Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB). Archived from the original on April 16, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- ↑ Greising, David (November 6, 2006). "Google's Excess Ads to Run in Newspapers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2026 – via Chicago Tribune.
Further reading
[edit]- Hall, Peter (April 1, 2006). "Spy Magazine–1986: Years After Its Demise the Legendary Magazine Continues to Exert a Cultural Influence". Metropolis (MetropolisMag.com). Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- Crains NY Staff (1988). "40 Under 40 Class of 1988" (awardees list). Crains New York Business (CrainsNewYork.com). Retrieved February 20, 2026.
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