Joseph P Clayton

Joe Clayton, a veteran of the telecom and consumer-electronics industries who served as CEO of Dish Network and Sirius Satellite Radio, has died. He was 69. Clayton died on Saturday, Nov. 3 2018, after a brief illness. He served as president and CEO from June 2011 until his retirement in March 2015. Prior to that, he served as CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio (which later merged with XM to become SiriusXM) from 2001-04 and as chairman from 2004-08. Before joining Sirius, Clayton was president of telecommunications firm Global Crossing North America; president and CEO of telco Frontier Corp. In the 1990s, as Thomson Consumer Electronics’ head of marketing and sales for the Americas and Asia, Clayton helped launch DirecTV in 1994 with Hughes Electronics and also led marketing and sales efforts for RCA TVs and VCRs. He started his career in 1973, joining RCA as a marketing associate in New York City. Joseph Paul Clayton was born Oct. 11, 1949, in Louisville, Ky. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bellarmine University in Kentucky and an MBA in marketing and management from Indiana University. Clayton is survived by his wife, Janet; daughters Megan Stovall (Matthew), Kelly Herr (Brock), Kathleen Reitz (Andy), and Molly; son John Paul; grandchildren Samuel, Abigail, William and Lucas Paul; brother Mike Clayton (Leigh Ann); and sister Ellen Willett (Jerry).