
Conrad Trautmann will retire at the end of March from Cumulus Media.
The company announced that Yancy McNair will be promoted to senior vice president of engineering as of April 1, overseeing engineering, telecom, real estate and purchasing.
Trautmann, who holds the role of chief technology officer and has represented Cumulus on the NAB Radio Board, is the latest prominent radio engineering executive to leave U.S. radio companies in the past year.
Others have included Mike Cooney of Beasley; Jeff Littlejohn and Alan Jurison of iHeartMedia; and Rob Bertrand of public radio station WAMU. All have been familiar in the industry not only for their work at those organizations but for various roles with entities like the National Radio Systems Committee and/or the NAB Radio Technology Committee.
Some of these departures have been announced as retirements, others saw their positions eliminated. All have come against a background of general business retrenchment by major broadcasters. Taken together they represent a notable changing of the guard among our industry’s cadre of senior engineers.
“Throughout his tenure, Conrad has been a driving force for innovation and excellence,” said Cumulus Media President/CEO Mary G. Berner in a press release.
“Among his many remarkable achievements, he seamlessly transitioned our content team to remote broadcasting within days of the pandemic’s onset, built a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and the team to execute it, and led critical system transitions that have positioned us for future success. His unwavering dedication to advancing the industry he loves will leave a lasting legacy, influencing its future for years to come.”
Trautmann received the Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award in December. (Read our profile.)
He began his broadcast technology career as chief engineer at WEBE(FM) in Westport, Conn. He was later chief for stations run by ML Media partners, Cox Radio and Clear Channel, including WSYR(AM) in Syracuse. He joined Westwood One in 2000 as EVP of technology. He became Cumulus’ senior VP of technology and operations in 2016.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers recently elevated him to its highest rank of Fellow. He joined SBE in 1985 and has served on its national board of directors for multiple years. The organization describes him as an “invaluable mentor and technical resource” and he is actively involved in its New York Chapter 15, in addition to the national level.

As Cumulus’ chief technology officer, Trautmann reports to President/CEO Mary Berner.
Yancy McNair has been with Cumulus for 21 years, currently as VP of technical operations. He will report to Chief Financial Officer Frank Lopez-Balboa, who cited McNair’s “exceptional leadership and technical expertise. His deep understanding of our operations and his proven track record of success uniquely qualify him to lead our engineering team into the future.”