executives

New York, NY – January 12, 2018 – iHeartMedia announced today that its National Programming Group has elevated renowned programming veteran Doc Wynter to the new position of Executive Vice President of Urban/Hip-Hop Programming Strategy, effective immediately. He will report to Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer for iHeartMedia.
 
In his new role, Wynter will continue to oversee iHeartMedia’s Urban and Hip-Hop brand formats and work to improve the company’s Urban brands in its over 150 markets. In addition, he will continue to guide and develop the company’s roster of Urban and Hip-Hop programmers and on-air talent, and book artists and produce events for iHeartMedia including REAL 92.3’s The REAL Show. Wynter will also remain in his role of Program Director of iHeartMedia’s REAL 92.3, LA's Home for Hip Hop.

“No one understands Urban and Hip-Hop programming like Doc and we’re thrilled he’s expanding his role leading iHeartMedia’s programming strategy for those key formats,” said Rich Bressler, President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for iHeartMedia. “He’s been instrumental in launching several of our Urban and Hip-Hop stations nationwide and we’re excited for him to be even more hands-on with all of our Urban brands in our over 150 markets.”

Wynter will celebrate 29 years with iHeartMedia in January and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Urban Programming and Urban Brand Manager for the company. He began overseeing the company’s urban radio stations in late 1999 and has launched several well-known iHeartMedia brands, such as Power 105.1 FM in New York City, REAL 92.3 in Los Angeles, V101.5 in Jacksonville and The Beat in cities that include Houston, Miami, Tampa and Nashville. Wynter has worked closely with national radio personalities The Breakfast Club, Big Boy, Steve Harvey and Keith Sweat. He will also continue to program and manage all Urban and Urban AC content for iHeartRadio Custom stations, including The Beat, All My Jamz and more. In 2017, he was named to Radio Ink’s Best Program Directors in America list and Billboard’s first-ever Hip-Hop Power Players list.
 
“Urban radio has been my passion for as long as I can remember,” said Wynter. “Having worked with iHeartMedia for almost three decades, I know we have some of the best programmers and on-air personalities in radio. I can’t wait to help our Region and Market Presidents provide their local Urban and Hip-Hop music fans with one-of-a-kind listening experiences that only a company like iHeartMedia can create.”

New York, NY – December 20, 2017 – iHeartMedia announced today that Pedro Javier González has been named Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartLatino. González will report to Enrique Santos, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of iHeartLatino and Brad Hardin, Executive Vice President and General Manager for iHeartMedia’s National Programming Group. He will be based out of Miami.
 
In September 2016, iHeartMedia joined forces with Santos to develop iHeartLatino, an unprecedented Hispanic multi-platform initiative building on Santos’ unparalleled profile within the Latino community and leveraging iHeartMedia’s reach of more than a quarter of a billion listeners monthly. Recognizing the increased importance and size of the U.S. Hispanic populations, both Spanish- and English-speaking, the iHeartLatino division aggregates iHeartMedia’s vast portfolio of Hispanic targeted programming and content across multiple platforms – broadcast, digital, social and live events.
 
In his new position, González will work closely with Santos and Hardin to oversee the iHeartLatino brand and programming strategy. He will assist in the recruitment of top programming and on-air talent and will collaborate with iHeartMedia’s national and local sales teams to create and execute programming with partners. In addition, González will work with the National Programming Group’s Artist Relations department to plan and book talent for iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the annual mega-concert that celebrates the best in Latin music.
 
“Pedro knows that this is an ever changing industry and is always ahead of the game when it comes to adapting to the listeners needs and demands,” said Santos. “His vast experience building winning radio teams combined with his programing knowledge and expertise will be key in our continued growth. I’m thrilled to welcome Pedro ‘PJ’ González to his new role at iHeartLatino.”
 
González comes to iHeartLatino with a proven track record in all aspects of content operations in the radio industry and the Hispanic market. He previously served as Vice President of Content for Univision Radio, where he was responsible for branding and content strategies across radio and all digital platforms. During his 13-year tenure at Univision, he also managed talent development for all radio brands and worked closely with Santos. His extensive background also includes serving as Vice President of Programming for Uno Radio Group in his native Puerto Rico, where he oversaw the top three stations in the market. González began his radio career at 17-years-old as an on-air personality in Puerto Rico. He is a graduate of Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan.
 
“I’m thrilled for the opportunity to reunite with Enrique at iHeartMedia, which reaches more Hispanic consumers than any other media company in the U.S.,” said González. “I’ve been following the great work that iHeartLatino has already done and I can’t wait to collaborate with iHeartLatino’s talented programming team and on-air personalities on additional ways to best serve the millions of Hispanic consumers who listen to iHeartMedia radio stations and the iHeartRadio app every day.”

New York, NY – December 1, 2017 – iHeartMedia announced today that its National Programming Group has elevated noted programming veteran John Ivey to the new position of President of CHR (Contemporary Hits Radio) Programming Strategy, effective immediately. He will report to Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer for iHeartMedia.

In his new role, Ivey will oversee iHeartMedia’s CHR and RCHR brand formats and work to improve the company’s Top 40 brands in its over 150 markets. In addition, he will continue to guide and develop the company’s roster of CHR programmers and on-air talent, and book artists for events including the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour and KIIS FM’s Wango Tango. Ivey will also remain in his role of Program Director of iHeartMedia’s KIIS FM, LA's #1 Hit Music Station.

“For over 15 years, John has played a key role in the success of our Los Angeles market brands and CHR stations nationwide,” said Rich Bressler, President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for iHeartMedia. “We’re thrilled that he’s taking an even larger role within our National Programming Group and helping groom our next generation of extremely talented CHR Program Directors and top on-air personalities. He will be a valuable resource to Greg Ashlock, President of the iHeartMedia Markets Group and to our Division and Region Presidents.”

“John is one of the foremost talents in media today when it comes to programming Top 40 radio and he is a driving factor in why KIIS FM is the most listened to station in its market,” said Tom Poleman. “He knows what CHR listeners want to hear and we’re confident he’ll help bring similar success to our stations in other markets.”

Ivey is a 40-plus year radio veteran who most recently served as Senior Vice President of Programming, and CHR Brand Manager for iHeartMedia. He began his radio career as an on-air personality and Music Director in his hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky and later led programming efforts for stations in Rochester, New York; Nashville, Tennessee; and Boston. He joined iHeartMedia Los Angeles in 2001 and has served as Vice President of Programming for the market and Program Director of KYSR FM and KHHT FM. Since Ivey joined KIIS FM as its Program Director, the station has been the #1 Arbitron ranked position in the market and is the most listened to station in LA with approximately 4 million weekly listeners. Most recently, Ivey was named one of Billboard magazine’s Top Pop Radio Programmers for 2017.

“Throughout my career I’ve always loved the opportunity to help new artists and young talent and programmers grow and I’m thrilled my new position as President of CHR Programming Strategy makes the things I love top priority,” said Ivey. “Thank you to iHeartMedia for allowing me to get past the 20 year mark in Los Angeles and to continue working with our amazing CHR programming and on-air teams.”

New Roles Will Capitalize on the Success of the iHeartMedia Markets Group and Further Propel Its Growth
 
New York, NY – November 6, 2017 – iHeartMedia, the leading audio company in America with a greater reach in the U.S. than any other media outlet, announced today it has elevated Greg Ashlock and Hartley Adkins as the next step in the evolution of the iHeartMedia Markets Group.  Ashlock, previously President of iHeartMedia Markets Group West Division who also served as the senior business leader representing the company in the West, has been named President of the iHeartMedia Markets Group. In addition, Hartley Adkins, who most recently served as President of Northeast Division and Corporate Operations for the iHeartMedia Markets Group, has been named President of Integrated Revenue Strategy.
 
In his new role, Ashlock will now manage the entire iHeartMedia Markets Group, including the company’s more than 850 radio stations in over 150 markets. This consolidation under one leader will allow iHeartMedia to move quicker, be more responsive, communicate more clearly and best serve both listeners and advertisers based on each market’s unique needs. Division Presidents Kevin LeGrett and Tom McConnell will continue in their roles and report directly to Ashlock.
 
In the newly created position of President of Integrated Revenue Strategy, Adkins will join the Corporate group in New York and will be responsible for working with Group heads and other Corporate leaders to help develop innovative revenue initiatives that scale across multiple platforms as well as new strategic solutions specifically for the Markets Group that utilize the unique assets of iHeartMedia.  He will also have responsibility for certain strategic businesses and will oversee iHeartMedia’s mergers and acquisitions activity with stations and markets as well as represent the company within radio industry groups and associations.
 
Ashlock and Adkins will report to Bob Pittman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iHeartMedia, Inc. and Richard J. Bressler, President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for iHeartMedia, Inc.
 
“We created our iHeartMedia Markets Group to bring decision-making and resources closer to our markets. This is the next step in that evolution to a fully-empowered Markets Group and is a reflection of the success we’ve had so far, not only in our Divisions but with our new Region President structure,” said Pittman. “This new consolidated leadership under Greg will be more nimble, more collaborative and more connected across the entire company, giving the benefit of iHeartMedia’s unparalleled size, scale, technology and data to every local market partner and advertiser as well as for the benefit of every listener.“
 
Pittman added, “Hartley’s new integrated revenue strategy corporate role will allow us to enjoy the benefits of integrated strategies for all of our revenue groups. Hartley will work across all groups at iHeartMedia to drive these new strategies for the benefit of our marketing and advertising partners through all of our revenue channels.”

New York, NY – November 2, 2017– iHeartMedia, the leading audio company in America with a greater reach in the U.S. than any other media outlet, announced today that Dr. Michele Madansky will join the company as its Executive Vice President of Insights, Research and Data Analytics, effective November 27. Madansky will report to Peter Ban, Executive Vice President of Revenue & Sales Operation.
 
In her new role, Madansky will develop and manage a variety of data and research efforts involving digital analytics, ratings and measurement, ad sales research, mobile measurement, programming analysis, music research, campaign measurement/attribution and marketing research. Her responsibilities will include providing unique audience and consumer analytics across iHeartMedia’s vast array of operations, which encompass radio broadcasting, online, mobile, digital and social media, live concerts and events, television, syndication, and independent media representation.
 
“Michele has an expansive track record providing cutting edge analytics for a wide variety of today’s biggest media companies,” said Ban. “We’re thrilled she’ll be shaping our research efforts and ensuring our advertising partners are best utilizing iHeartMedia’s unparalleled reach and multiplatform assets.”
 
Madansky’s extensive research background includes operating her own media and market research consulting firm specializing in media and advertising. Over the past decade she has worked with some of the top media companies including BuzzFeed, ESPN, Pinterest, Time Inc., Hearst, Twitter, The New York Times, YouTube, GSN, Chegg and BabyCenter. From 2003 to 2007, Madansky served as Vice President of Global Market Research for Yahoo!; prior to joining Yahoo!, she was a managing partner at analytics consultancy Grey Insight Partners and was the first interactive specialist at advertising agency BBDO.
 
“Through the research I have been conducting with college students over the past 5+ years, I have seen the power of radio and audio and its ability to connect with consumers across multiple platforms including in home, in cars and through their smartphones,” said Madansky. “I look forward to working with iHeartMedia to help marketers continue to best leverage the emotional connections that all audiences have with audio and to measure the impact on their businesses.”
 
Madansky currently serves on the Advertising Research Foundation’s Women in Analytics Advisory Board and on the program board for I-COM (Global Forum for Marketing Data and Measurement). She is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

New York, NY – August 8, 2017 – iHeartMedia, the leading media company in America with a greater reach in the U.S. than any other radio or television outlet, announced today a four-year contract extension with radio and media veteran Darren Davis.  Davis will continue in his critical role as President of iHeartMedia Networks Group reporting to Bob Pittman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iHeartMedia, Inc.
 
Under the new agreement, Davis will continue to oversee the success and close integration of the company's extensive multiplatform assets, including the iHeartRadio Network, Premiere Networks, Total Traffic + Weather Network, and the NBC News Radio Network, as well as iHeartMedia’s in-house audio and visual creative agency. Davis will also continue as President of iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio platform - the fastest growing digital audio service in the U.S. that offers users thousands of live radio stations, personalized custom artist stations created by just one song or seed artist and the top podcasts and personalities. With over a billion downloads, iHeartRadio reached 100 million registered users this year, and continues to reach user milestones at a rate faster than any other radio or digital music service.  
 
Davis oversaw the launch of ‘iHeartRadio Plus’ and ‘iHeartRadio All Access’ on demand services powered by Napster in January 2017, which revolutionized the live radio experience. While 73 percent of consumers, which include users of on demand music services, continually cite radio as their primary source of music discovery, iHeartRadio’s on demand services allow listeners to bridge the divide between music discovery and music collecting by seamlessly incorporating true interactivity into the radio listening experience through a variety of features.
 
“We’re pleased that Darren will continue to lead the integration of our Networks group that enables iHeartMedia to harness the unparalleled power, reach and scale of our digital and broadcast platforms,” said Pittman. “His twenty-five-years of experience working in every facet of iHeartMedia means he has a unique understanding of every aspect of our company -- from our broadcast radio stations and iHeartRadio to our sales teams and partnerships, and how they can all work together to best serve our consumers, partners, affiliates and advertisers.”
 
“Since I was a kid, I knew I’d spend my life in radio,” said Davis. “I’ve seen a lot in the last twenty-five years as iHeartMedia has expanded into multiple platforms like the industry-leading iHeartRadio. There isn’t a day that goes by where I’m not amazed by iHeartMedia’s evolution, which is built on broadcast radio — my first love — and now provides one-of-a-kind programming, entertainment and opportunities to connect our advertising partners across our unparalleled range of multiple platforms in ways that no other company can. I’m thrilled to be continuing this journey.”  
 
Davis began his career in 1992 as an intern at iHeartMedia’s Adult Contemporary WASH-FM in Washington, DC, and celebrates his 25th anniversary with the company next month. He was named to the Program Director role at WASH-FM when he was just 23 years old and has since worked as Regional Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Detroit and Chicago, Senior Vice President of Programming and Executive Vice President and General Manager of National Programming before being named to his current position in 2014.  Davis also built and managed the Premium Choice national network and worked to develop iHeartMedia's strategic national programming capabilities.
 
Davis currently serves on the boards of the Radio Advertising Bureau and the New Jersey Broadcasters Association; is a member of the National Association of Broadcasters’ Digital Officer Committee; and is a perennial presence on Billboard’s Digital Power Players list and Radio Ink’s 40 Most Powerful People in Radio list. He is a graduate of The George Washington University.

New Long-Term Agreement Extends Poleman’s Central Role at iHeartMedia Leading its National Programming Group

New York, NY – June 5, 2017 – iHeartMedia, the leading media company in America with a greater reach in the U.S. than any other radio or television outlet, announced today that widely respected radio and music industry veteran Tom Poleman has been named its Chief Programming Officer, effective immediately. Under a new long-term agreement, Poleman will also remain President of iHeartMedia’s National Programming Group. He will continue to report to Bob Pittman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iHeartMedia, Inc.

In addition to co-producing iHeartMedia’s major national marquee events including the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the iHeartRadio Music Awards, the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, the iHeartCountry Festival, iHeart80s Party, the iHeartSummer ’17 Weekend by AT&T and iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, Poleman and his team will continue to oversee programming and music strategy, talent development and artist relations for iHeartMedia’s more than 850 radio stations, which reach more than a quarter of a billion listeners a month, and provide key support for its national team of programmers across the country. He will also continue to head up iHeartMedia's music discovery and emerging artist initiatives, including the Artist Integration Program and the On the Verge program, which have championed artists like Sam Smith, Maren Morris, Fifth Harmony and James Bay, as well as Sam Hunt, Bleachers and Lukas Graham, early in their careers.

“No one understands the intricate relationship between programming, on-air talent, artist relationships and live music events like Tom Poleman,” said Pittman. “He has always been a key part of the team that has shaped iHeartMedia into a multiplatform company. Tom’s unique vision has turned our National Programing Group into what it is today, an innovative nationwide network of the most talented people working as a team to bring constant innovation to our company and our industry. I’m thrilled that he will remain a key contributor in our company’s continued evolution and success.”

Poleman was named President of iHeartMedia’s National Programming Group in August 2011, where he was tasked with unifying iHeartMedia’s programming initiatives and capabilities and magnifying the company’s size and scale. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia and oversaw programming and marketing for all iHeartMedia radio properties in New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Boston and Providence. Poleman’s extensive programming background includes overseeing Z100/New York, one of the most successful pop stations in the history of the medium. He has also led programming at Top 40 radio stations in New Haven, Connecticut and Houston, Texas and was named the youngest corporate programming executive for AMFM Broadcasting in 1999. Poleman has received numerous accolades throughout his 30-year career, including being inducted into the FMQB CHR Programmer Hall of Fame and being honored numerous times as Major Market Mainstream Top 40 Program Director of the Year at the Radio Music Awards. He has also made multiple appearances on Billboard Magazine’s Power 100 list, including being listed in the top 20 in 2017.

“From the moment I stepped foot into WVBR at Cornell University in 1983, I knew I’d found my passion,” said Poleman. “I’ve seen a lot in the ensuing thirty five years, but nothing has made me more excited for our industry’s future than iHeartMedia’s continued evolution as a leader in media and entertainment across multiple platforms. We have the best stations, events and media assets in the world, including our amazing personalities and programmers. It’s an honor to be part of this amazing team.”