iHeartMedia has announced that Darren Davis will step down as Chief Operating Officer of the company’s Digital Audio Group at the end of the year.
Davis began his programming career at WASH-FM in 1997 after rising through the ranks from intern to programming assistant. After spending three years as OM of CBS Radio Houston, he returned to Clear Channel in 2002 as Regional Vice President of Programming for Clear Channel Detroit and then Chicago and worked his way up through the ranks as Senior Vice President of Programming and to his previous role as Senior Vice President and EVP of National Programming Platforms before being named President of the company’s Networks Group in 2014. He moved into his current role of COO of the Digital Audio Group overseeing the company’s podcasting businesses, the iHeartRadio app, station websites, newsletters, digital services and advertising companies such as Jelli, RadioJar, Unified, Voxnest and Triton Digital in February of this year.
In an internal memo, CEO Bob Pittman and President/COO Rich Bressler note that Davis will remain with the company as an advisor following his exit. They state that Davis will focus on other projects including real estate development, local community projects and traveling with his family.
Team,
We want to share some news with you about Darren Davis, Chief Operating Officer of our Digital Audio Group. Darren, who is a longtime and valued member of iHeart senior management, has decided to step down from his role after nearly three decades with our company, effective January 1, 2022.
Anyone who knows Darren knows he has a deep love for iHeart and a true passion for our business and our success, and he’ll be continuing with the company as an advisor when he steps down as Chief Operating Officer next January.
Darren first joined our WASH-FM in Washington, DC as a programming team intern in 1992, and in essence has grown up through our organization – continually taking on new roles and more responsibility and becoming a critically important contributor as part of our senior team. Now, after almost 30 years with iHeart, Darren is looking forward to spending more time on a variety of other projects he’s passionate about, including real estate development, local community projects and traveling with his family. Although his day-to-day operating expertise will be missed, we appreciate all he’s done for our company and are very pleased that he will continue his association with us, albeit on a more limited basis.
Darren will remain active in his role through the end of the year, and he will be working closely with Conal Byrne, CEO of our Digital Audio Group, through the balance of 2021 to continue our momentum and to effectively organize the Digital Audio Group for the future.
We know you will join us in thanking Darren for his many contributions to building iHeart, and in wishing him the best of luck on this new path!
Bob and Rich