NEW YORK — It’s starting to look like a busy week for corporate appointments at the nation’s second-largest radio broadcasting company by number of stations.
In an announcement made before Tuesday’s Opening Bell on Wall Street, Cumulus Media bolstered its digital team by selecting Larry Linietsky for a brand new top-rank position.
Effective immediately, Linietsky will serve as Cumulus’ VP/Digital Operations and Business Development. In his new role, Linietsky will lead and shape digital operations and business development at Cumulus, with a focus on developing, sourcing, and monetizing digital products and services for the radio station group and the company’s national radio arm, Westwood One.
Linietsky reports to Suzanne Grimes, who serves as EVP/Corporate Marketing for Cumulus Media in addition to her role as WW1 President.
She says that Linietsky will partner with executive leadership “to capture digital opportunities that best leverage Cumulus’ rich portfolio of assets.”
Commenting on the birth of a corporate-level digital post, Cumulus President/CEO Mary Berner noted, “We are focusing on our digital strategy, and I am thrilled to welcome Larry at this transformational time when we are poised for game-changing digital expansion. Larry is uniquely qualified to leverage the company’s assets and identify and build digital growth opportunities.”
The luring of Linietsky may send a message to Wall Street, let alone Cumulus’ rivals, that it is poised for long-term growth despite recent debt-related challenges that have overshadowed a turnaround at the company seen under Berner’s tenure.
Linietsky has served as a Digital Consultant for Cumulus since April. From October 2011 to June 2015, he served as SVP/Business & Partner Development at iHeartMedia, his final position over a 10-year tenure at iHeart.
He joined the company formerly known as Clear Channel Media and Entertainment after serving as SVP/Business Development at Napster, and is perhaps best-known for helping to create and launch the wildly successful iHeartRadio app.
Before working at recording industry revolutionary Napster, he held roles at Vivendi Universal’s RollingStone.com; at Universal Music Group; and at MCA Music Entertainment Group.
In prepared comments, the New York-based Linietsky said, “Not only do I see massive potential for the company’s digital future, but the organization, people and programming are first-rate. This is a dream opportunity, and I am honored to join Cumulus Media at this pivotal point in the company’s trajectory. ”
Linietsky’s appointment comes following a Monday announcement from Cumulus Media that it has appointed John Kaufman as SVP/Revenue Strategy and Operations. In this newly created position, Kaufman “will lead the optimization of revenue at Cumulus with a focus on pricing and inventory management across the network and radio station groups.”
He is also based in New York and will report to Ms. Berner.
Kaufman is also a former iHeart executive. He joined then-Clear Channel in 2009 as SVP/Revenue Management, and advanced to President of Business Operations for the company before launching his own consultancy, JK Steele Consulting LLC, in 2014.
Kaufman said, “Seeing all the great change underway at Cumulus, I am so pleased to be joining Mary and her leadership team at this exciting time, and look forward to helping the company continue in its evolution.”
