After almost 30 years with iHeartMedia and its predecessor company, Clear Channel Communications, Tom McConnell — a Division and Region President who has led several markets for the nation’s No. 1 owner of radio stations — is retiring.
This will see two company veterans each take Division President roles, as the company prepares for McConnell’s formal exit, with a continued role as a consultant.
It’s part of a realignment of iHeartMedia’s Markets Group structure under the leadership of Hartley Adkins.
In an internal memo obtained on Tuesday by RBR+TVBR, iHeartMedia commented, “The media world continues to change rapidly, and we are fully committed to leading, not following — continually strengthening our position as the audio industry leader by evolving our assets and our cutting-edge technology solutions, and nimbly pivoting to meet the ever-changing needs of our marketing and advertising partners.”
With that in mind, the Markets Group realignment is being made. And, it also comes as part of an effort “to move more decision-making responsibility from the center to the division level,” allowing iHeartMedia “to react quickly to customer needs” quickly.
This sees Houston Region President Eddie Martiny take on a Division President role for the major markets in Texas, including San Antonio (Clear Channel’s first market), Dallas, Austin and Houston; and the Louisiana markets of New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Concurrently, Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships John Karpinski will now be Division President of the major Carolina Markets; St. Louis; Indianapolis; Memphis; and the Kentucky cities of Louisville and Lexington. Karpinski will continue to lead iHeartMedia’s Market Tier 3 Automotive business on a corporate level.
The memo concluded, “With our leadership in every aspect of the audio industry, this further modernization of our organizational structure, matched with our new technology and support, positions us even more strongly to take full advantage of our unparalleled range of assets, technologies and platforms. We’re excited for this next stage of our development and growth, and we thank you all for your dedication to our shared goals and mission.”
McConnell first gained wider responsibilities at Clear Channel under the leadership of John Hogan in May 2011 with his promotion to Northeast SVP/Operations, from Boston Market Manager. In that role, McConnell worked closely with now-retired WXKS “Kiss 108” morning host Matt Siegel, who was recently inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame by McConnell.