Desiree Perez

CEO, Roc Nation

When Perez was honored as the Women in Music Executive of the Year in 2019, Roc Nation vice chairman Jay Brown described her as “fearless, a champion and she saves the day. A true humanitarian.” In accepting her honor on the 2022 Billboard Power List in January, Perez noted that Roc Nation is “always putting philanthropic endeavors and community initiatives first” — epitomized by the Team Roc Job Fair in November, which “hosted over 3,000 attendees, offering close to 10,000 jobs and services,” she says. In the past year, Perez also guided Roc Nation’s partnership with the NFL, which led to an Emmy Award nomination for the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show featuring The Weeknd, and the return of its Philadelphia Made in America Festival for its 10th anniversary, which drew 60,000 fans. Roc Nation management division clients Moneybagg Yo and DJ Khaled both reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with their albums A Gangsta’s Pain and Khaled Khaled, respectively, while J. Cole, signed to the company’s recorded-music division, achieved the same feat with The Off Season.

Aguirre shared recognition as Billboard’s Women in Music CoExecutive of the Year in 2018 with Jacqueline Charlesworth, Susan Genco and Dina LaPolt (below) for their support of the Music Modernization Act. This past year she played a role in some of the NMPA’s “largest settlements to date” with Roblox and Twitch, which ensured proper compensation for songwriters and publishers on these platforms. Aguirre, 44, and the NMPA set the standard for licensing songs in gaming and social media. “These deals have brought not only value to the music publishing industry,” she says, “but also helped develop new relationships and partnerships between publishers and some of these fast-growing platforms.”