When it comes to media consultants and talent development specialists, few are as well-known and respected as Phoenix-based radio industry veteran Steve Smith. In January, he wrapped up a nearly 11-year run with Cox Media Group as VP/Programming. Then, in April, he teamed up with Tim Richards and Heidi McIvor-Allen to launch a new consultancy, dubbed the Smith Richards Collective.
His resume includes stops at the former CBS Radio, at iHeartMedia predecessor Clear Channel Communications, and at Emmis Communications, where he shifted WQHT “HOT 97” in New York from freestyle dance music to hip-hop in the early 1990s.
Now, shockingly, the U.S. radio industry is mourning the sudden death of Smith, who resided in the Phoenix area. He died July 7 of undisclosed causes and was 62 years of age.
