Sales Dept. Upgrades @ Cumulus/Westwood One
• Cumulus unveiled a bunch of major changes to its sales leadership — let’s start at the top of the pyramid, where Ron Russo has been promoted to President, Sales at Westwood One, reporting to Westwood One President, Suzanne Grimes. He replaces Bryan Forbes, who is leaving the company to pursue another opportunity. Russo (left) was most recently Westwood One’s EVP of Sales for the Northeast region, and previously held sales leadership roles at iHeartMedia and CBS Radio.
And there’s more movement: Rafe D’Amico (right) is promoted to SVP, President of National Sales, responsible for leading the Cumulus Radio Station Group’s national spot team and managing the relationship with Katz Radio Group, succeeding Bryan Forbes in this capacity and reporting to Dave Milner, EVP, Operations, Cumulus Media. Prior to joining Cumulus, D’Amico was VP of Strategic Partnerships & National Sales at Beasley. “The station group has benefited greatly from Rafe’s knowledge and strategic approach to its National business,” said Milner. “Promoting him to lead the talented team and our relationship with Katz is well-deserved.”
And we’re not done yet — Brandon Berman (left), EVP of Sales and Sports Partnerships at Westwood One, expands beyond his current oversight of the Midwest region and Westwood One Sports sales, to assume responsibility for the Northeast region as well, while Kim Bryant (center), EVP of Sales for the West and Southwest regions at Westwood One, adds responsibility for the Southeast region.
And finally, Adam Shifrin (right) is promoted to VP, Sports Sales & Marketing at Westwood One. He retains his current responsibility for generating sports revenue in the Midwest and West regions, and now manages all Westwood One Sports Play by Play, CBS Sports Radio, and associated shoulder inventory as well as the dedicated sports sales and operations teams. “Westwood One is extremely fortunate to have a group of sales executives poised to lead the team forward seamlessly,” said Grimes. “I’m thrilled to announce these well-deserved promotions that will enable us to manage through this challenging pandemic with confidence, commitment, resilience and results.”
