Stuart J. Sharpe, who led Regional Reps Corporation for decades and built it into one of the radio industry’s longest-running independent sales rep firms, has died. The news was first posted on social media by his family and confirmed to Radio Ink by a former colleague.
Sharpe got his start in radio at Ohio University’s WOUB while in college. He went on to earn a master’s degree in organizational communication in 1966, then taught in the Speech Department at Cleveland State University before returning to radio through part-time on-air work and, later, a sales job at WKSW in Cleveland.
He acquired Regional Reps Corporation in 1985 and ran the company as owner for decades. Under his leadership, the company built out six regional sales offices in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and New York, and represented independent and family-owned station groups across dozens of markets nationwide, including VerStandig Broadcasting, Zone Radio and The Montana Radio Company.
His daughter, Shayna, started with the company answering phones in high school, went on to work at Clear Channel/Cleveland and Arbitron, and returned to Regional Reps in 2008 before succeeding him as CEO, with Sharpe moving to Chairman of the Board. Regional Reps was acquired by Gen Media Partners in 2018.
