On Monday, iHeartMedia distributed a press release that shared details about a “leadership realignment” in its Markets Group, and simultaneously distributed via an internal memo to all staffers with nearly all of the same details.
It is now known that the information distribution to iHeartMedia staff contained news that was omitted from the press release: A Division President is stepping back and becoming a Strategic Advisor, while a Region President is leaving “to pursue a new opportunity.”
In the memo, shared with Streamline Publishing late Thursday, “Bob and Rich” — a.k.a. CEO Bob Pittman and COO/CFO Rich Bressler — told iHeartMedia employees that Scott Hopeck is exiting after nearly two decades with the company.
Hopeck since 2015 has been President of the iHeartMedia station group in the nation’s No. 1 market — New York. Previously, he had oversight of the company’s Phoenix stations. Prior to that, Hopeck was based in Atlanta, serving as SVP of Sales. He initially joined iHeart predecessor Clear Channel in 2004 as General Manager of the Braves Radio Network.
As Pittman and Bressler said, Hopeck is leaving iHeart to pursue a new opportunity. “We know you will join us in wishing him all the best and congratulating him on his many accomplishments at iHeart,” the executives said. “We thank him for his important contributions during his career with us.”
Hopeck has also served as Chairman of The New York Market Radio Association (NYMRAD), earning the role in January 2018.
Meanwhile, the former President/CEO of Cox Media Group, who joined iHeartMedia in July 2022 for a Florida role that saw her replace Linda Byrd, “has decided to take a step back from her day-to-day role as Division President and will become a Strategic Advisor.”
What does this mean for Kim Guthrie?
To be clear, she will be working with iHeartMedia for the next three years, Bressler and Pittman said in the memo. Commenting on her efforts, they shared, “We continue to be extremely appreciative of Kim’s extraordinary experience and expertise in navigating us through the post-pandemic world. We are lucky to have had her leadership at such a critical time and we thank her for her commitment; we’re very pleased that she will continue to work with us to keep iHeart at the forefront of innovation.”
Guthrie, who holds a B.A. in Journalism from Iowa State University, began her career in 1987 for All Pro Broadcasting, owned by the late Willie Davis, as the General Sales Manager for the Milwaukee-based radio company. In 1992, she took on similar duties at Heritage Media, before landing at Hubbard Broadcasting in 1995 for GSM duties at its Minneapolis-St. Paul cluster.
Guthrie had been associated with Cox Media Group since August 1998, taking the top role at CMG in January 2017. She joined Cox as VP/General Manager for its Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y., radio stations, rising through the ranks to the top position prior to Apollo Global Management’s takeover of Cox Media Group.
Until succeeding Byrd as the head of the iHeartMedia stations in Florida, Guthrie considered herself retired, concluding a career that included honors such as the 2020 Leadership Award by the Broadcasters Foundation of America. Guthrie is a multi-year honoree of Radio Ink’s “Most Powerful People in Radio” and “Most Influential Women in Radio.” She also was named “Woman of Distinction” by the March of Dimes, “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the “Trailblazer Award” by the Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio group (MIW) and was awarded the “Women Who Lead” honor by the Alliance for Women in Media (AWM).
