John Sykes took over as Chairman of the Board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation on January 1, 2020. (His first start-to-finish induction class was 2021.) It's been five full years, so let's sharpen a pencil and fill out his report card to see how he's performed in various subjects:

• Increasing diversity on the Nominating Committee: In Sykes's tenure, the number of women on the Nominating Committee has steadily increased from 26% when he took over, to an all time high of 45% in 2025. Grade: A-
• Increasing diversity on the Board of Directors: Sykes inherited a Board with two women out of 26 members (8%). The Board now has seven women out of 28 (25%) and a far more racially diverse group. Grade: B
• Live streaming the induction ceremony: In 2023, the Hall of Fame moved the induction ceremony broadcasts from HBO/HBO Max to Disney+ where the ceremonies were able to return to an unedited live streaming format. As part of this deal, ABC broadcasts an edited version of the ceremony annually on New Year's Day, reaching the free TV audience for the first time. Grade: A
• Reducing the backlog by increasing the size of the induction classes: In the five years before Sykes took over the Hall was averaging just 6.8 inductees per induction class. Since 2021, that has doubled to 13.8. There are still a staggering number of deserving artists but it could be so much worse. Grade: A+
• Fixing the voting system: Beginning in 2024, the Rock Hall adjusted their voting rules to allow their official voters (and the fans) to vote for up to seven artists instead of the previous five. This was done to reflect the larger performer classes the Hall of Fame had been inducting. While still not perfect, this was a step in the right direction. Grade: B+
• Aligning the emphasis of the Fan Vote with its actual importance: Every time a popular artist gets nominated, their fans flood the Fan Vote hoping to guarantee their induction but get disappointed when it doesn't happen. The Rock Hall hasn't adjusted the emphasis they place on it nor the weight it is given in the actual tally. Grade: D
• Bringing clarity to the Special Categories: In an attempt to broaden the definition of the Musical Influence category to go beyond the original pre-Rock & Roll-era intent, the Hall inducted Kraftwerk and Gil Scott-Heron in 2021. They succumbed to the temptation of using Musical Excellence and Musical Influence as brute-force mechanisms to clear congested ballot lanes, and in doing so completely muddied the definitions of the categories and rendered them meaningless. Grade: F
• Keeping his promise to Cleveland to bring the induction ceremony there every two years: In 2021, he said that was the plan but it hasn't happened yet. The Museum and Cleveland desperately want it, but Sykes's public comments have shifted to keeping the current three-year rotation. Grade: D
• Increasing or maintaining the prestige of an induction: Under Sykes, the Hall of Fame self-proclaimed the inductions "Rock's Highest Honor," clearly trying to mimic the Grammys' "Music's Biggest Night" tagline. Even during the Jann Wenner era, the honor of being inducted was been questioned by some artists, and that has continued in recent years with notable friction with inductees like Chubby Checker, Carol Kaye, Foreigner, Rage Against the Machine, and Todd Rundgren. Additionally, performers who get inducted in the side categories often publicly question what that is all about. As much as Sykes proclaims that all inductees are equal, the honor of getting in through the ballot process as a performer while being voted on by other inductees (your influences and peers, plus "the fans") is still the preferred avenue for most artists. Grade: C
• Improving communication of the ballot and inductee announcements: From creating no buzz around the ballot announcement, to releasing the nominees on the Saturday before the Super Bowl, by dropping the Sirius-XM partnership, to having American Idol half-ass the inductee announcement, it has been nothing but a series of failures. Grade: F
• Expanding the definition of "rock and roll": Beginning in 2005, Jann Wenner began the push to get hip hop artists included in the Hall of Fame. Twenty years later, that has become a settled fact at this point. In 2022, the Dolly Parton nomination as a performer broke the unspoken separation between the Rock Hall and the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Rock Hall had dabbled with country artists in the past, but usually in the context of inducting them as influences. Willie Nelson went in easily the following year, so it seemed that other country stars could soon follow. That hasn't happened yet and the relationship of the Rock Hall and country music is still a bit up in the air. Sykes did broaden the Rock Hall's focus to nominate a global superstar like Mariah Carey who didn't get any attention from the Hall of Fame for her first 8 years of eligibility. Other popular "icons" like Cher, Carole King, Lionel Richie, and Tina Turner all were able to finally get noticed under Sykes. Grade: B
• Keeping the Rock Hall induction ceremonies unique: There are three different eras of induction ceremonies: The first was the 1986-2011 ceremonies which were the private Waldorf-Astoria black tie affairs (there were a couple of exceptions). The TV cameras were mostly an afterthought and the focus stayed on the inductees. The 2012-2020 HBO era made public ceremonies permanent and increased the production value and star power, but not at the expense of keeping the focus on the inductees. In the John Sykes era since 2021, it often feels like the inductees aren't the primary focus. Tribute performances are booked for artists who would prefer to perform themselves. Inductors are selected for their name or industry status rather than their connection to the honoree. The production values have remained high, but the reliance on "award ceremony regulars" gives the ceremonies a new blandness. The Rock Hall should be special in a way that the Billboard Awards, the American Music Awards, and especially the iHeart Music Awards just aren't. Grade: C

So with all of the above categories being weighted equally, the final grade for John Sykes after his first five induction classes averages out to about a B-. Your own impression of his tenure will hinge on how much value you give to his various accomplishments. While it's not included above, a vital part of his tenure was bringing some steady leadership to the position that wasn't burdened with Jann Wenner's racial and gender biases, and his reputation for blacklists. Everyone can agree it was time to move on from that.