She’s been a member of the iHeartMedia family since April 2018, when she came on board as a Senior VP for UX/CX/Research at its New York corporate headquarters.
Now, she’s being elevated to iHeartRadio Chief Product Officer.
Uta Knablein is stepping into the position, rising from Executive Vice President of iHeartRadio’s Flagship Products and User Experience.
In her new role, Knablein will report directly to Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group.
“At iHeartMedia, we’re committed to innovation and being on the forefront of this fast paced industry,” Byrne said. “Since joining the team, Uta has played a critical role in elevating the user experience through groundbreaking products and features. With her decades of experience and shared values, there is no doubt she is the right leader for our product team. As we look toward the future, we’re thrilled to have Uta’s depth of industry knowledge to keep us on the cutting edge.”
Prior to joining iHeartMedia in 2018, Knablein worked for Nickelodeon Digital, in a UX/Design VP role she took in 2016. Before that, she was a design leader at Outbrain, JPMorgan, American Express and CNBC.
A graduate of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany-born Knablein brings what iHeartMedia calls “a deep expertise in leading teams to create behavior-driven and data-informed products that drive audience growth, user engagement, increased loyalty and revenue.”
Knablein succeeds Chris Williams as Chief Product Officer, concluding Williams’ 17-year tenure at iHeartMedia.
“My time at iHeartMedia, working alongside Chris Williams, has been impactful and inspirational – to say the very least,” said Knablein. “We have built an incredibly talented team that continuously strives to deliver a best-in-class experience and industry-leading products, and I am elated to step into this new role. Looking ahead, we have an ambitious roadmap of new innovations that will continue to build on our robust offering, increase market share and drive growth for the iHeartRadio platform.”
