Changes continue in the corporate management suites at Cumulus, now on the technical side. Conrad Trautmann has been promoted to become senior VP of technology and operations. Longtime SVP of Broadcast Engineering Gary Kline will leave the company.
The move was announced in an internal memo by new Cumulus CEO Mary Berner.
Trautmann will be responsible for companywide broadcast engineering and IT at Cumulus. He had been chief technology officer and EVP technology for network operations at Cumulus-owned Westwood One.
“Conrad is not only a tested leader but as an experienced collaborator and expert in his field, he is the ideal person to oversee the consolidation of these two functions,” Berner wrote in an email last week to employees explaining the changes.
Other changes within engineering and IT at Cumulus, according to the memo: Pete Stefanske has been promoted to VP of information systems for Cumulus; Marsha Reid Rhodes is upped to manager, telecom; and Eric Wiler becomes SVP, technology and broadcast operations, at Westwood One.
Kline had been with Cumulus in several capacities since 1999. He serves on the board of directors of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and is a past recipient of the Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award recipient. Berner told staff that Kline had informed the company he was leaving to “pursue other professional goals.”
“Gary has made tremendous contributions to Cumulus during his many years here and has agreed to stay on for the next few weeks to work with Conrad on several projects and ensure a smooth transition,” she wrote.
Trautmann will also oversee several new corporate operations, responsibilities and departments, including purchasing, real estate and facilities.
“Additional accountabilities and lines of reporting will be defined in the coming weeks to improve the oversight of the company’s business systems and application development,” Berner wrote. “However, the radio broadcast engineering teams at the station level will continue to report to their market managers but will liaise with Conrad’s corporate engineering team to support project management and capital planning for the stations.”
Berner, named Cumulus CEO in September 2015, has made recent executive level changes in sales and programming in an effort to turn around the second largest radio broadcast group in the United States. Cumulus operates 460 AM and FM radio stations in 90 markets.
Related:
Five Questions: Conrad Trautmann (Aug. 2014)
Five Questions: Gary Kline (July 2015)
