Best Manager Profiles

iHeartMedia's Dave Carwile has worked in every position in radio sales and sales management over the past 23 years. He's been an AE, Team Leader, GSM, DOS, NSM, Market Manager, Market President, Regional Market President, and now Region President over 53 radio stations in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Carwile has excelled at every level during those 20-plus years and has been promoted to senior executive level positions four times just in the past five years.

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.

That was one of the questions we asked Chris Kampmeier, iHeartMedia's veteran programmer who's retiring New Year's Eve. In the final installment of our interview with Chris, we asked him for his thoughts on the Portable People Meter technology, whether programming a radio station is easier today than it was decades ago when he started, and the skills the program director of 2017 will need to win. Here's what he had to say...

It was only four years ago that Amy Stroud joined Mike Tarter's Forcht Broadcasting as Digital Media Director. On Wednesday, Tarter promoted Stroud to Senior Vice President, where she will spread all of her broadcasting knowledge across Forcht's 25 stations by working with managers on personnel, programming, and operations as she continues to run the company's social media and website products.

As part of our series spotlighting Radio Wayne finalists, we turn to the Sales Manager category today. Michael Tedesco fell in love with radio listening to the Real Don Steele on KHJ-AM in Southern California. Today he's helping make WAWZ-FM in New Jersey a financial powerhouse as sales manager.

As part of our series spotlighting 2019 Radio Wayne finalists, we turn to the D.O.S. category today. Carter Broadcast Group's Vic Dyson is a 28-year radio veteran. He grew up in the radio industry, his dad is the legendary Marv Dyson.

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.

Tim Gratzer has 24 years of experience in the radio industry. He’s a great mentor for his AEs, according to Cumulus Market Manager Alex Cadelago, because he's equally vested in their personal growth as he is their financial success.

Jim Watkins is the General Manager at WHUR at Howard University in Washington DC. He’s also one of Radio Ink’s Best Managers of 2017. Watkins is credited with building WHUR, 46 years ago. He's not only the General Manager of this top tier heritage radio station, he's also a mentor to some of the industry's most notable radio personalities and executives.

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.