Leigh Ann Brannon is moving up at the Arkansas Broadcasters Association. Brannon, who has served as the association’s Membership Director for nearly three years, will become Executive Director when Neal Gladner retires in September, following the ABA convention.
Brannon was selected as Gladner’s successor after a nationwide search. She reports to ABA President Kristen Speer, who called Brannon “a leader in her current role” with “a tremendous knowledge base about our Association.”
Brannon’s professional background is largely rooted in associations and nonprofit work. From March 2017 to March 2020, she served as an account outreach lead for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, now known as Blood Cancer United. Earlier in her career, she worked as an account executive for Comcast in Little Rock and, from May 1999 to November 2000, as a sales representative for KTHV in Little Rock.
Gladner was named ABA Executive Director in December 2023 after a career that included stints as VP/General Manager of KARN and the Arkansas Radio Network, market manager for Citadel Broadcasting’s Little Rock cluster, and VP/General Manager of Crain Media Group, along with years as a KARN morning news-talk host. He also served previously as an ABA board past president.
Brannon said, “I look forward to advocating for Arkansas broadcasters, building and strengthening connections across our industry, and creating opportunities for members to network, collaborate and grow. Broadcasters are a very important community and resource in our state, and I’m eager to move forward together as we continue building a strong future for broadcasting in Arkansas.”
