Hugh Panero

Hugh Panero is the owner of Yellow Brick Road Ventures, LLC, which consults and invests in a variety of entertainment related companies. Mr. Panero has over 30 years experience in the media business. He co-founded XM Satellite Radio in 1998 and served as its CEO until August 2007. During his tenure at XM, the company became America’s #1 satellite radio service with more than 9.3 million subscribers and grew from a concept into one of the fastest-growing new technologies ever, outpacing the growth of wireless phones and cable TV. Hugh was named one of the best CEOs in America by Institutional Investor in January 2006 and one of 20 “power players” in the digital entertainment industry for 2005 by Billboard Magazine.

In 2008, Hugh joined New Enterprise Associates (NEA), one of the leading venture capital firms and focused on finding and investing in start-up consumer technology businesses, including new media businesses such as BuzzFeed. In 2012, he joined Popdust, the NEA funded NYC start-up company and served as its CEO for a year. Over his career, Hugh has held various executive positions building subscription, on-demand and advertiser-supported media businesses. He currently serves on the Boards of several area non-profit and for-profit companies at different stages of maturity. He lives in Maryland with his wife who is a long-time journalist and documentary filmmaker.