The end of August will bring two notable changes in Beasley Media Group’s senior technical management.
Lamar Smith is being promoted to director of corporate engineering. At the same time, Mike Cooney, chief technology officer and executive vice president of engineering, will depart.
Smith has been with the company since 2011, most recently for six years as VP of engineering. Prior to Beasley, Smith held engineering management roles at Entercom.
“In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing all engineering activities across Beasley’s 57 radio properties throughout the United States,” the company said. He will continue to be based in Charlotte, N.C.
“Lamar’s commitment, dedication and experience are exactly what we need as the organization continues to evolve and innovate into the future,” said CEO Caroline Beasley in the announcement.
[Related: “Beasley Gets a New Hub of Its Own in Boston”]
Meanwhile Mike Cooney confirmed that the company has eliminated his position.
He posted on LinkedIn: “After 17 great years with Beasley Media group as their CTO, I’m leaving and looking for my next opportunity in media or engineering management.”
Cooney is a past recipient of the Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award and has a high profile in U.S. commercial radio engineering. He is a former chairman of NAB’s Radio Technology Committee and a member of the Technical Committee for the Broadcast Traffic Consortium. Prior to joining Beasley in 2007 he was director of engineering and IT for Entercom for eight years. He also worked for AVI Systems, Video Masters and Radio One.
“We would like to thank Mike Cooney for his many years of service to the company,” Chief Communications Officer Heidi Raphael wrote to Radio World. “His last day will be Aug. 31. Mike will continue to work on special projects on behalf of the organization.”
