"I very much appreciate that Rod is a PM who puts the user experience front and center. There is a tendency within the org to favor speed of launches over the user journey and product excellence. Rod has resisted this cultural norm of "launch now, worry about the UX later,” and this is no small feat. I hope that Rod continues to be a champion of Getting It Right The First Time."

"Rod took upon himself to thoroughly go through research study findings, conduct his own interviews with partners, and understand industry and users in this space. He has been a champion for defining user-centric solutions, and going against a culture of launching disparate features quickly. Rod aligned with UX to advocate for a more cohesive flow for the product."

"Rod cares about quality and impact more than visibility -- his dedication to getting the job done right has had a huge impact on overall product quality. Rather than pushing low-quality, high velocity releases without much impact, every single launch solves a distinct user-problem or opens a new opportunity."

"Rod has a great can-do attitude. He is always optimistic and doesn't shy away from difficult projects. Rod is Googley, and generally approaches his work with a 'let's get this done' attitude. No drama, no ego, very solution oriented. It's great to work with him on product challenges."

“I've never heard Rod say we can't do the right thing by our users because 'it's too hard' or 'it will take too long'. The platform needs more of this attitude to balance out a cultural tendency within to always choose speed over  user needs in product execution.”

"Rod Lopez is the GPM behind Android Auto’s success and he’s a man worth breaking ethical rules around human cloning."

“This was a large and challenging project involving multiple teams at locations around the world. We interacted directly with many capable people inside and outside of Microsoft, but Rod’s work on the project was exceptionally well done, and he became a crucial, effective partner for us. Without hesitation I recommend Rod particularly for any role interacting with development partners and getting a product out the door.”

"Rod is smart, technically savvy, and willing to dig into tough technical issues. He learns what he needs to, finds the right people with the right information, and focuses on finding practical solutions. This was clear to us in numerous discussions about in-game technology as well as the tech outside the game, including content management and the interaction between multiple products on multiple platforms. Rod also solved crazy issues with Xbox One dev kits and developer accounts at a time when working with early Xbox One hardware and software was problematic, to say the least."

"Rod is organized and focused, even in the face of stress and complexity. Rod coordinated efforts between teams spread from Seattle to Frankfurt, and he did so effectively and reliably, always focused on finding solutions and getting back to work."

"Rod knows how to ship a product. Despite pressure from every side, often in contradictory directions, Rod kept in mind the goal of shipping a quality product on schedule. He prioritized issues, focused on the things that mattered, set aside those that didn’t, and had the courage to say ‘no' when that was the right answer. At the same time, he respected the design of the product, and never let go of the goal of making a world-class experience that would be an example to dev teams following after us.
I would happily work with Rod again."

"I wanted to drop a note about how amazing Rod has been to work with over the last few years.
When we were looking for teams with the agility and skillset to build fast prototypes and engineer solutions to things that our title teams were too busy to explore, Rod and the incubation team were quick to gather requirements and operationalize the work to make the code real.
He also did an amazing job wrangling our outsource vendors, driving clear communication to both our leadership and the working teams for what was needed to keep the production on schedule.
Rod has been a great collaborator, a strong leader for our engineering prototypes, and that steady, pragmatic planner for hard projects.
Congratulations on attracting some great people."

"Before you go read this kickass graphic novel, before you ‘oooooh' at the crazy beautiful art, before you find and collect all your will-actually-get-you-in-game-rewards gold, I have to call out one person. Now, don’t get me wrong, this project was truly raised by a village. From feedback on art-styles, to backend connection with Xbox LIVE, many talented people played a part in making Sword of Damocles as freakin’ awesome as it is. But, Rod Lopez was invaluable to the success of this product. He came in and took this fledgling of a project and made it fly. There is no part of Sword of Damocles that doesn’t have his fingerprints all over it. I know he wants to thank the contributors to this project himself, so I’ll stop here. Hats off to you my friend, and congratulations to all the folks who brought us to today. Now, go check it out!"