With great fanfare and the industry trade press covering its every move, Great Lakes Media Corp. has shifted from idea to operation under its founder, Tom Langmyer.
Less than a year after announcing the formation of the company, Great Lakes has a corporate website, Twitter feed and a Facebook page — but no stations.
Once it does, a new COO and CFO will have a hand in overseeing their operations alongside the former VP/GM of WTMJ-AM & WKTI-FM in Milwaukee.
Who’s taking the respective roles?
Serving as Chief Operating Officer is an individual well-known for his simultaneous leadership roles as President of the ABC Radio Station Group and President/GM of former Hot Adult Contemporary WPLJ-FM 95.5 in New York — Mitch Dolan.
Dolan took over as President/GM for WPLJ and former sibling WABC-AM in February 1990 and is largely responsible for relaunching WPLJ under the programming leadership of Scott Shannon, first as “Mojo Radio” and then as a tastemaker current-driven adult pop station. At WABC, popular afternoon host Bob Grant and syndicated talk giant Rush Limbaugh helped bring ratings riches back to the onetime Top 40 leader.
Dolan exited ABC in February 2009 and most recently served as COO of Radio & Outdoor for Times-Shamrock Communications. He departed the company in September 2018 and quietly joined Great Lakes in July.
Serving as CFO of Great Lakes is Ed Nolan.
He’s the former SVP/CFO and Treasurer of Greater Media, the radio broadcasting company acquired by Beasley Broadcast Group.
“I’m pleased to welcome two experienced and exceptional leaders to Great Lakes Media.” Langmyer said. “Mitch is highly-respected in the media industry and his outstanding track-record of achievement was defined by his ability to consistently out-perform the companies and stations with whom he competed.”
Speaking of Nolan, Langmyer added, “Ed’s distinguished career is highlighted by his oversight and successful execution of a number of complex M&A transactions while serving on the senior leadership team of one of America’s finest and most-admired media companies. He’s well-known and respected in our industry as a leader. Ed’s depth of knowledge and experience in the media space is beyond impressive.”
Dolan commented, “Throughout my career I’ve had the special privilege of being part of extraordinary companies where the only thing as highly-valued as performance were the people who achieved it. I got to know Tom when he was the GM of WGN and ABC’s toughest competitor in Chicago. Although I tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to hire him to run WLS, we developed a true friendship based on the shared belief that amazing people get amazing results. Obviously, working with Tom has been a goal of mine for many years and I’m thrilled that he finally agreed.”
Great Lakes Media Corp. “intends to primarily invest in the acquisition of local radio stations and digital platforms in the U.S., focusing on properties in medium and large markets in the Northeast and Upper Midwest.”
Veteran industry executive John Gehron is a board advisor.
While RBR+TVBR reported in March the hiring of Gabe Hobbs as SVP/Broadcast; Chris Petersen as SVP/Business & Corporate Development; and Bill Zaccheo as SVP/Digital, Langmyer says the they are no longer involved with Great Lakes and are in pursuit of stations through another venture, OnBrand Marketing.
“They are excellent people and I think they’ll be successful, as I believe they will be terrific operators in our space,” he said. “Our business needs people who are looking at our industry differently.”
Speaking of Great Lakes, Langmyer told RBR+TVBR, “This is been a terrific journey. It takes a while to build things, but we hope to make a difference as we focus on radio, which is at its best – being local.”
