Best Manager Profiles

Eric Mastel is the Market Manager for Cumulus in Savannah. He's also one of Radio Ink's Best Managers for 2017. Mastel got his first job in radio as an AE, got handed the phone book and some cassettes called, “tiger tapes”, 33 years ago. His first managers position was GSM for WKFM in Syracuse in 1987.

In our latest 2018 Radio Wayne finalist podcast we speak to Cumulus Houston Sales Manager Tim Gratzer about how he succeeds in the trenches every day. The Radio Ink Radio Wayne Awards will be handed out on September 27 at the RAB/NAB Radio Show in Orlando, and over the next several weeks we're going to highlight the best of the best in radio sales and management. Here's our interview with Cumulus' Tim Gratzer...

In 2014 Sonia Katz Ungerman was the Radio Ink Radio Wayne Sales Manager of the Year. This year she's a finalist again. She's that good. Her boss, Hubbard Radio Regional Manager Dan Seeman says his sales manager leads with "unbridled positive passion and enthusiasm. She is a tireless leader and has some of the strongest relationships with advertisers in the market and is a mentor to many young women in the radio business and the advertising business." Today, this 2016 Radio Wayne finalist shares her secrets to becoming the best in the business.

At the Radio Show in Orlando next week, Matt Cowper's name will be announced following the Advertiser Breakfast, Thursday morning. Matt is a Radio Ink Radio Wayne finalist in the Stu Olds National Sales Manager category. The Beasley Media VP, based in Philadelphia, oversees Tampa, Vegas, Fort Myers, North Jersey, Boston, Fayetteville, Charlotte, Augusta, Detroit, and Boca.

Eric Mastel has taken what we are told was a struggling cluster for Cumulus and turned it into one of the company's top performers. You cannot do that without getting people to follow you into battle.

Phil Zachary started his radio career on the air at WAAF in Boston. His 40-year journey in radio included positions as Program Director, Sales Manager, National Sales Manager, and GM/Market Manager. He took over the Entercom New England cluster in October 2013. And, according to one employee we spoke to, Zachary has led the group to become one of the most desired clusters to work for in New England. Ratings are up across the brands, and revenue continues to climb. Phil Zachary will appear on Radio Ink's Best Manager's in Radio list set to be released on October 24. Let's find out how and why he's been so successful.

Meet one of Radio's Best Managers. Kristin Okesson is the Market Manager for Jeff Warshaw's Connoisseur Media in Connecticut. She's been in radio since she was 16 years old. Her first job was for radio station WZBG where she was the producer of the morning show. It was a startup station owned by Dick Ebersol and Susan Saint James in Litchfield, CT.

Sarah Frazier is the Market Manager for CBS Radio in Houston. She's also one of Radio Ink’s Best Managers of 2017. And that should come as no surprise, Frazier is consistently one of The Most Influential Women in Radio and on our Best Managers list. Frazier has been in radio since college, when she worked as the sales manager, traffic manager, and operations manager at KJHK at the University of Kansas.

Donna Hall's 29-year career with Cox began as an AE for the Dayton Daily News. Today, she's the VP/Market Manager for Cox Media Group’s Atlanta cluster, which includes the award-winning radio powerhouse WSB as well as four other stations. Hall has been selected as one of Radio Ink's Best Managers of 2016. Here's our extended interview...

Michael Dudding is the owner and General Manager of Mikadety Radio Corporation on Denison, Iowa, which he purchased in 1993. It's home to KDSN-AM and FM. Dudding is also on Radio Ink's 2016 Best Managers in Radio list, set to be released on October 24th. Those that nominated Dudding for our list said, "he is the licensee of the most successful small-market broadcast operation in the nation." That is high praise for sure. We set out to find out why he's believed to be one of radio's best and here's what we found out.