A series of leadership updates for Audacy Inc.‘s technical operations business has been announced by the radio station owner and parent of podcasting entities Pineapple Street and Cadence13.
Clay Walker has been elevated to Vice President of Content Operations, overseeing a newly created Content Operations Department.
Concurrently, as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations, John Kennedy will oversee a “refocused” broadcast engineering function.
In his new role, Walker is responsible for content operations across the publicly traded company, with its “AUDA” stock presently an Over-the-Counter option. His main task? “To ensure innovation, standardization and delivery of a premium product at the local, regional and national levels.”
Under Walker’s leadership, the Content Operations Department will also be responsible for developing the requirements and business objectives “that drive the short and long-term goals and funding for content creation, curation, and operational systems.”
Walker reports to EVP of Programming Jeff Sottolano, and is formally being elevated from his current role of Director of Programming and Operations for Audacy’s Greensboro, N.C. stations; a successor in North Carolina is to be named. However, his Brand Manager duties for WPAW “93.1 The Wolf” in Greensboro are being given to Drew Bland, who is now Regional VP of Country. Bland will remain Brand Manager, the term Audacy uses for a radio station’s Program Director, of Country siblings KMLE-FM in Phoenix and KKWF-FM in Seattle.
Meanwhile, Kennedy will manage and maintain Audacy’s acquisition, distribution and production equipment and solutions at the local, regional, and national levels, including Audacy’s Network Operations Center. “With expertise in broadcast engineering standards, regulatory needs and equipment, the broadcast engineering function is accountable for ensuring that Audacy’s radio and streaming solutions have 99.99% uptime and meet listener, advertiser and FCC expectations,” the company explained.
Audacy Inc. Chief Technology Officer Sarah Foss commented, “As we aim to continuously evolve our content distribution and technical operations to serve our multi-platform future best, we’re excited to have two passionate leaders in Clay and John to drive two critical areas of our tech ops function. We’re confident these changes will enable us to better envision, plan and implement multi-platform transformation across our content operations, broadcast infrastructure and network.”
Sottolano said of Walker, “Clay has already proven himself to be an adept and innovative thinker as it relates to the evolution of our content production and distribution systems. I am excited to see him and John partner more closely with our central, regional and local content and technical operations teams.”
Walker commented, “Audacy’s portfolio of the industry’s highest-profile creators, brands and platforms is simply incredible. I’m excited to help further accelerate the Company’s transformation with technology and world-class technical talent to build better experiences for our fans.”
Walker is a 20-year broadcast veteran, 17 of which spent at Audacy. In addition to being the Brand Manager at “93.1 The Wolf” in Greensboro, he has helped conceptualize and design the operation of the company’s national programming initiatives in Country, Alternative, Top 40 and Classic Rock. As the Director of Programming Operations for Audacy in Greensboro, Walker focused on “developing innovation in automation, audio processing and listener experiences while developing frictionless environments for the company’s content creators,” Audacy said.
Kennedy shared, “As we aggressively work towards enhancing our content technical infrastructure, it will be an exciting opportunity to work alongside Clay and our leadership team to ensure we are best serving our listeners’ expectations and advertiser demands.”
Kennedy started working in radio engineering upon entering Providence College and has made a career of working in radio broadcast and related industries throughout New England since 1980. He joined the company, then-known as Entercom, in 1999, working his way up from local market Director of Engineering to his current role as Senior Vice President. He serves on the NAB Radio Tech Committee and is a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and the IEEE/Broadcast Technology Society.
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He joined Audacy in 2021 after 12 years as Vice President of Programming and Operations Manager for WBLS-FM and WLIB-AM in New York. He also served as Vice President of National and Community Partnerships for WBLS and WQHT “Hot 97” under current owner Mediaco. Now, Skip Dillard is being promoted to Format Vice President for Audacy Inc.’s Rhythmic AC and “Throwback” properties. Dillard will continue as Brand Manager of “Throwback” WXBK “94.7 The Block” in New York.
