As Senior Director of Product for Apple’s Retail division, Tony Lopez (’95) is responsible for defining and building the technologies that have made Apple one of the world’s most successful and admired retailers. Tony is responsible for product management, program management and innovation prototyping of Apple’s digital properties which span over 37 different countries and include the Apple Store App, Apple’s Online Store as well as Apple’s commerce presence on TMall and WeChat.
Lopez was honored as the 2018 Outstanding Alumni of Color by the Division of Diversity, Equity and & Educational Achievement on May 11, 2018.
A career on the breaking edge of technology is not what Lopez imagined after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995 with a degree in psychology. In fact, the Middleton High School graduate hadn’t planned to attend college. But after following up on an opportunity to attend UW that was presented to him by his high school counselor, Lopez decided he wanted to be a clinical psychology. As life unfolded, how this Badger ended up using his psychology degree took an interesting turn.
Imagine the early 1990s – there was little or no public knowledge and access to the internet, or “worldwide web” as it was called then. Progressive institutions and businesses were building their early versions of web pages; a geeky pursuit that fascinated Lopez, who quickly latched on to developing the Psychology Department’s emerging website alongside what have become his best friends and lifelong colleagues.
“They created a runway for life,” Lopez said, reaffirming the Badger tradition of discovering lifelong partnerships forged in Madison. He also found his Badger niche on the Isthmus, where he met his wife, Anne, at the Plaza Tavern, acquired his first business suit at Jazzman menswear store on State Street, and most importantly, pledged to remain true to himself while nurturing his emerging passion.
From pioneering early web building, Lopez used this experience to team up with fellow UW alumni and start numerous web-based businesses including a corporate web development company (acquired by TDS) and one of the web’s first music search engines and broadcast sites, soundz.com, which was acquired by an executive from a major hardware company in Silicon Valley.
Technology is his super power, Lopez said, and he decided to allow it to evolve naturally. His interest and training in psychology is embedded in the daily analyzing of buyer use behavior and designing technology to better fit and improve the user’s experience.
Technology led Lopez to San Francisco with his business partners during the first dotcom boom. He was an early member of Looksmart, which went on to become one of the Internet’s top three most trafficked sites and went public. Tony then joined shockwave.com as executive producer where he developed entertainment properties with Madonna, Will Smith, Tim Burton, and Matt & Trey of South Park fame to name a few.
On the West Coast, Lopez rejoined one of his former UW business partners to lead product development for Simple Star, a start-up focused on sharing video and photo memories in rich interactive ways. After Simple Star was acquired, Tony joined a senior partner from world renowned venture capital firm Accel to start Flowgram where they developed technologies that enabled anyone to create rich content experiences based on content found anywhere on the web.
“When you surround yourself with people who are supportive in your life and work, there isn’t anything you can’t accomplish,” Lopez said, adding that this is the best possible atmosphere in which to take risks and figure out how you can creatively use your talents.
One of the advantages of growing up and studying in the Midwest is that people are well-rounded analytically and emotionally, Lopez said. It’s a quiet sense of practicality that has kept him grounded and focused.
“Humility is key. When you’re largely successful, it’s easy to drink your own Kool Aid,” Lopez said. He also tried a taste of academia, but prefers the challenge, creativity and growth available through entrepreneurship.
Tony joined Apple 10 years ago to build the product organization from scratch. During this time, his teams have played a major role in every Apple Hardware launch including the introduction of the original iPad and Apple Watch, expanding the Apple Store to numerous new countries including China, launching the original Apple Store App and numerous redesigns. All the while Tony has created digital shopping experiences that have set the bar for digital commerce by focusing on simple, engaging shopping experiences.
Resumes say a lot but it doesn’t tell everything, Lopez told students in a mentoring luncheon prior to graduation, thinking back on his first interview more than 20 years ago and that trip to Jazzman with a mentor who recognized he didn’t own a suit for the presentation. He suited up, but decided not to cut his hair, which would have created a perception of a person who doesn’t exist.
“This is who I am,” Lopez said. As a Latino in technology, Apple recognizes both diversity and excellence, Lopez said. “I’ve had the privilege of building a great team at Apple and I’ve had trouble retaining them.”
That’s because Apple is big on education and a meritocracy, he said. Their products promote maximizing potential so it makes sense that employees grow and move on. Lopez has also learned plenty about management style can be a reflection of personal values.
“There’s formal management for success and moral management that values the people on your team and around you,” Lopez said. Like-minded colleagues help to keep him on track.
Apple also values giving back, Lopez said. “That’s a place I want to be.”
Tony and Anne Lopez are contributing $250,000 to establish and fully endow a Chancellor’s Scholarship to support underrepresented Wisconsin-resident students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The official name of the scholarship is the Tony & Anne Lopez Family Chancellor’s Scholarship Fund.