Gentry’s mentorship and management model had been broadly praised. Chris Gaglia, a former OpenX worker, recalled Gentry’s preliminary hesitance to rent him over considerations that Gaglia was a surfer, and Gentry was “apprehensive about motivation.” Nonetheless, the 2 bonded rapidly and, “because it turned out, JG beloved paddleboarding and spending time in Newport Seaside—and as soon as we linked, we by no means regarded again,” Gaglia stated.
“Each every now and then, you meet somebody who leaves an enduring imprint in your life. JG was a kind of individuals,” Gaglia stated. “Though my time working with him was far too quick, I’ll always remember our weekly one-on-ones—half nervous, half excited—as a result of he was all the time direct, all the time anticipated outcomes, and but one way or the other all the time despatched you away sharper than once you walked in. He was a frontrunner who challenged you, believed in you, and made you higher. The business misplaced an excellent one.”
Michael Todd, an govt at Silver Lake Companions who beforehand labored as chief expertise officer and at OpenX, remembered Gentry as a considerate and caring presence. “John was instrumental in constructing OpenX into the impartial, people-first advert tech firm it turned identified for over the previous decade,” Todd advised ADWEEK. “He mixed deep business instinct with real take care of these round him, and he pushed everybody to function at the next normal. I used to be lucky to study from him as a frontrunner and to know him as an individual.”
Tributes to Gentry flooded social media following the information of his dying.
Jason Fairchild, cofounder and CEO of TV adtech agency tvScientific, in a publish, referred to as Gentry “an business chief, a pioneer, a collaborator to many people, and an unbelievable govt.” He additionally characterised Gentry as his “finest buddy,” “mentor,” and “greatest fan.”
Fairchild and Gentry labored collectively at software program agency GoTo.com earlier than Fairchild recruited Gentry to affix OpenX. Below his oversight, Fairchild wrote, “OpenX re-transformed right into a high-growth firm pushed by innovation and unbelievable execution.”
In an announcement to ADWEEK, Fairchild added: “John was a pressure of nature. A pressure centered on doing the best factor. The appropriate factor for the corporate and the best factor for the person. The pressure was uncompromising and sometimes pushed individuals out of their consolation zones, however it was grounded in empathy and take care of the individual.”
Of their private lives, Gentry and Fairchild had been extraordinarily shut. “We spent numerous hours collectively commuting, vacationing, and simply hanging out, speaking about work, life’s ups and downs, our objectives, household, and no matter was happening,” Fairchild wrote in his publish. “We raised our children collectively, sharing Christmas mornings or teaming up in opposition to the children for epic Name of Obligation matches, solely to get our asses kicked by 8-year-olds. We had been out and in of one another’s chaotic each day lives for many years. He was the primary buddy I’d name with excellent news or to speak by way of a life problem.”
Gentry’s selflessness and good nature had been echoed by others who knew him and labored with him.
