The owner of more radio stations in the U.S. than any other broadcast licensee has selected a woman with “deep expertise in ad tech and digital and mobile advertising” to serve in the newly created role of Chief Business Officer.
Joining iHeartMedia for the role is Lisa Coffey. She will oversee the development, implementation and revenue from iHeartMedia’s new Advanced Advertising Products and platforms, including programmatic solutions for broadcast radio. Coffey is also being asked to lead iHeart’s effort to digitize and scale an addressable audio ecosystem.
Coffey, who reports directly to Chairman/CEO Bob Pittman and COO/CFO Rich Bressler, was formerly the Global Chief Revenue Officer at LoopMe, where she directed global revenue, partnerships and growth strategies. Prior to joining that organization, Coffey held key leadership positions at Amazon, including Head of Business Development for Amazon Hub and Head of Agency Development, where she founded and led the agency team that introduced Amazon Advertising to the U.S. marketplace.
Pittman commented, “We’ve been working to transform our broadcast advertising media to a more digital-like product, including strong data, attribution and targeting capabilities as well as creating new marketing and advertising products. Lisa’s unique skills and experience will enable us to take the critical next step in bringing this to market. We’re thrilled that Lisa has joined our team, and we’re confident that Lisa is exceptionally well-suited to lead this critical growth initiative for iHeartMedia, helping us unlock the full potential of our scale, platforms and content.”
Coffey said, “I’m excited to join iHeartMedia, a premier brand in the advertising industry. The opportunity to drive innovation that modernizes audio and integrates live audiences into the digital ecosystem, aligned with how brands buy and transact today, is incredibly compelling. And because broadcast radio has 3 to 4 times the reach of any streaming audio service, and is over two thirds of the total daily audio usage by consumers, I look forward to launching a platform that makes those audiences addressable and scalable for the advertising and marketing community.
She continued, “With its expansive reach, strong brand equity, and rich content portfolio, iHeartMedia is uniquely positioned to build a centralized advertising platform for both broadcast and streaming, efficiently matching supply with demand. With unparalleled assets and the ability to scale its offerings by productizing data across unified inventory we can advance the modernization of broadcast within the ad tech ecosystem. In addition, iHeart’s local presence and community influence offer a powerful advantage for brands in creating national impact through authentic, localized engagement.”
