CBS Radio President Andre Fernandez has announced Jeff Shultz as the company’s new senior vice president of development. Shannon Knoepke has also been chosen as SVP/market manager and director of sales for the Minneapolis cluster, CBS Radio Minneapolis, Chief Operating Officer Scott Herman said.
Shultz will be responsible for identifying areas of growth and opportunities that capitalize on over-the-air stations, local digital assets and live events. He will be based in Los Angeles and report to Fernandez.
“Given CBS Radio’s continued emphasis on transformative initiatives to grow the business and extend our brands deeper into the communities we serve, having a dedicated leader focused on distribution development and content monetization will be a welcome addition to the team,” said Fernandez. “Jeff’s performance at CBS Interactive has been impressive as he has forged new syndication agreements and increased advertising revenue during his tenure.”
He most recently served as a vice president of business development for CBS Interactive, leading partnership strategy for media groups such as TVGuide.com, TV.com and Last.fm.
Prior to that, he worked at Clicker, an online discovery guide and search engine for Internet television as SVP of business development from 2010–2011. Clicker was acquired by CBS in 2011. From 2002–2009, Shultz was the co-founder and CEO of Concert.TV, a national live music TV network. Previously, Shultz also held business development positions at NBC Internet and Quepasa.com in San Francisco and Phoenix, Ariz., respectively.
Shannon Knoepke will manage all operations and sales for the CBS Radio Twin Cities stations including KMNB(FM), KZJK(FM) and WCCO(AM). The appointment is effective Friday, Dec. 11. She succeeds Mick Anselmo, whose final day is Dec. 18.
Most recently, Knoepke was market president with Townsquare Media for 14 stations in the Rochester/Faribault, Minn. area. Prior to that, she was director of sales for iHeartMedia in Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Iowa, from 2001–2009. Knoepke previously worked for CBS Radio Minneapolis as an account executive with WCCO(AM) from 2000–2001. She began her career in sales in 1997 with Cumulus as an account executive and then eventually moved into a sales manager role in Rochester, Minn.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Shannon back to the CBS Radio family,” said Herman. “With years of sales and leadership experience under her belt, she has a terrific reputation in the Twin Cities area. Her commitment to the region and wealth of knowledge in the events and digital marketplace makes her uniquely qualified for the role.”
