New Sheriffs On Pineapple Street
• Audacy announced a new leadership team at its Pineapple Street Studios, promoting veteran staffers Bari Finkel and Je-Anne Berry to Co-Heads of the award-winning podcast studio.
It was concurrently announced that Pineapple Street Co-Founder Max Linsky has been named Senior Podcast Strategist for Audacy’s podcast division. He will continue to executive produce projects, as well as collaborate on podcast strategy for the company overall, advise Finkel and Berry in their new roles and work closely with key partners.
Finkel (left) joined Pineapple Street in July 2016 as the studio’s first employee, and has served as Producer, Executive Producer, Host and most recently, Head of Operations. Named Adweek‘s 2021 Podcast Innovator of the Year, Finkel has created and overseen Pineapple’s successful TV/film companion series business, working with partners including HBO, Netflix, Apple TV+ and Amazon Music to create buzzworthy film and television companion podcasts. Berry (right) joined Pineapple Street in September 2020 as Executive Producer of Pineapple’s brands team, and has successfully expanded the studio’s partnerships with Mailchimp, Nike, TED and Aventine.
Linsky has executive produced several award-winning, critically acclaimed shows including 9/12, Wind of Change, and 70 Over 70, which he also hosted. Linsky remarked, “As everyone who has worked with Bari or Je-Anne knows, they are the perfect team for this job. Bari has been here since day one, and Je-Anne joined once we were part of Audacy — the combination of those two vantage points, plus the shared vision for where podcasting is headed, makes me just so excited for this next era.”
Finkel and Barry report to Jenna Weiss-Berman, Audacy’s EVP, Podcasts, who noted, “I’m thrilled about what’s to come for Pineapple. Bari and Je-Anne have proven again and again over the years that they are creative, driven leaders and the studio will flourish under their direction. I can’t wait to work with them in this new way.”
In a joint statement, Finkel and Berry said, “We are incredibly proud of Pineapple and thrilled to step into our new positions. Through our respective roles and the many different shows and partners we’ve worked with, we’ve had incredible experiences at Audacy, making phenomenal podcasts with the most passionate teams. Being able to partner with each other to build on what Max and Jenna founded is a real honor and we can’t wait for people to see and hear Pineapple’s upcoming work.” [Finkel photo: Sylvie Rosokoff / Berry photo: Cherise Richards]
