In July 2020, a 14-year Cox Media Group veteran who five years earlier was promoted to General Sales Manager for its Miami-Fort Lauderdale stations joined iHeartMedia. He moved to Charleston, S.C., taking on the role of Market President.
Now, this veteran radio industry sales and operations pro is heading to the land of Giants, Warriors and 49ers to lead iHeart’s five FM and one AM radio station serving the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose region.
Earning the big promotion at iHeartMedia is AJ Punjabi.
Interestingly, the elevation of the former Cox Media Group/Miami GSM comes just one business day after it was announced that former CMG CEO Kim Guthrie will succeed Linda Byrd, starting July 15, as Division President for iHeartMedia Florida.
In his new post, Punjabi will report to Scott Hopeck, a Division President for iHeartMedia. “AJ is a talent-focused leader with exceptional digital experience, which will serve him well in the Bay Area, where he will lead a talented team of creators and sales professionals,” Hopeck said. “I’m excited for AJ to begin working with his team and our partners.”
While in Charleston, Punjabi also served as an enterprise leader of the Blockchain/Crypto/NFT category at iHeartMedia. If it is to grow it in any market, it is the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose DMA, home to Silicon Valley.
“I’m beyond grateful to the executive management team at iHeartMedia for entrusting me with one of our most critical operations,” said Punjabi, whose past roles include serving as Digital Sales Manager for Cox Media Group’s Athens and Atlanta, Ga., stations. He joined the company in September 2006 as an AE and was promoted to Senior Digital Strategist two years later.
“The strong commitment to exceptional programming, as well as its scalable, diverse marketing solutions, will give [iHeartMedia/San Francisco] distinct competitive advantages and enable us to continue to provide outstanding service to our audiences, advertisers, and the communities that rely on us. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves with some of the industry’s sharpest minds and create outcomes that will help iHeartMedia San Francisco further solidify its position as a market leader.”
Prior to his 2006 graduation from Indiana University, he founded an online company that targeted large classes across numerous majors at the school and sold notes to these classes online: Hoosiernotes.com.
