KINGSTON, N.Y. — For 18 years, he was President/CEO of Buntin Out-of-Home Media. Since 2018, he has led his own consultancy, focused on business innovation.
As of December 31, this 1989 SUNY Albany graduate who has never worked inside a radio station will replace Area President Kristen Delaney at the nation’s largest audio content and distribution company — an appointment that speaks volumes of the type of leadership iHeartMedia seeks in 2021.
Taking the position of Area President for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy market, in addition to the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Sussex, N.J., markets to the south of the Capital District, is Howard Grenier.
It’s an intriguing pick for iHeart, as Grenier, who is highly familiar with the region, has enjoyed a 30-year career in outdoor advertising. It began in earnest in August 1991, when he was named Market Manager for Whiteco Outdoor in Tampa-St. Petersburg. That led to a promotion as VP/National Sales before becoming Market Manager of Harrisburg-York, Pa., in August 1994.
From 1998 through early 2000, Grenier served as President/CEO of U.S. Outdoor, his first chief executive position. In March 2000, he took on the same role at Buntin, a position he would hold until May 2018.
Since then, Grenier had remained in Nashville, home of Buntin’s headquarter offices. Among his roles was serving as a business innovation consultant for OUTFRONT Media. Since September 2020, he served as president of his own HCG Consulting.
Now, Grenier is trading The Gulch for Cohoes and Jack’s Oyster House, as he readies to settle in to new offices in an office park in suburban Latham, N.Y.
He’ll be assuming leadership for a group of heritage stations serving the Capital Region that includes top-ranked Classic Rocker “PYX 106,” Classic Hits “98TRY,” Adult Contemporary “99.5 The River,” News/Talk WGY-AM & FM, Top 40 “Kiss 102.3,” and FOX Sports 980, rebroadcast on an FM translator at 95.9 MHz.
Additionally, Grenier will have oversight of Country WRWD-FM, one of three stations in the format within the vast New York DMA, following the WNSH-FM/New York format change to Classic Hip-Hop as WXBK by Audacy Inc. The Poughkeepsie station is a sibling to Adult Contemporary “Q92,” Classic Rock “Z93” and Top 40 “96.1 KISS FM.”
Furthermore, Grenier will be driving down the New York State Thruway and over to the Port Jervis, N.Y.; Matamoros, Pa.; and Sussex, N.J. “Tri-State” region, as he’ll take on leadership of heritage Adult Contemporary WSUS-FM; Hot Adult Contemporary WHCY “Max 106.3”; and longtime Rocker WNNJ-FM 103.7.
Grenier’s rise to the role is wholly different than that of the retiring Delaney, who joined iHeart/Albany when it was still Clear Channel-owned. Her first role, in January 1999, was as GSM. She rose through the sales ranks, becoming Area President in October 2011.
Before joining then-Clear Channel, Delaney was Sales Manager of the former Dame Media’s Utica-Rome stations. She transferred to Latham following Dame Media’s asset sales in New York State to Clear Channel. Delaney’s first job: As an account executive for WRCK-FM and WTLB-AM in Utica, N.Y., in the year Grenier graduated from the State University of New York at Albany.
Grenier, who will be responsible for creating new business and revenue opportunities as well as overseeing all programming, business and sales teams for the three markets, reports to iHeartMedia Community Markets Division President Dan Lankford.
“I’m excited to welcome Howard to the iHeart family,” said Lankford. “Howard’s extensive marketing knowledge and years of experience building winning teams will be a great asset to our Albany area operations.”
Grenier commented, “I am excited to join America’s leading audio company bringing over 30 years of national, regional and local marketing and media experience to an exceptional team of professionals in the Albany, Poughkeepsie and Sussex markets. Our team will continue to deliver best-in-class marketing initiatives to the region’s business community in an ever-evolving media landscape.”
RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION: Rather than promote Chuck Benfer, a veteran of Hudson Valley broadcast media who was GM of Albany Broadcasting Co. following an eight-year run as Cumulus Media’s Middletown/Poughkeepsie GM, iHeartMedia went with a guy who knows the region yet has never worked at a radio station. Good for them. With fresh perspectives and a OOH/digital background, he can take strong brands and sell them as brands — not “radio stations.” There’s a reason PYX 106 and WGY remain relevant, and there’s a reason WSUS and WNNJ are household call letters in the cities those stations serve. It is because they are brands that connect to the community in ways that go beyond their dial positions. While we wish Kristen the best in retirement and Chuck all of the success under Howard, he’s an excellent choice and hope he gets to stop in Kingston on his travels to Pougkeepsie and Sussex.
