Best Manager Profiles

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.

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.

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...

And that's exactly what Jeff Wilson does. Jeff has been in radio for over 36 years. He's worked on the air, as a controller, a sales manager, a GM, and now Senior RVP. He is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations for Radio One's DC cluster, with additional oversight of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Wilson has been voted one of Radio Ink's Best Managers of 2016. Here is our extended interview with Jeff on his management style and what it takes to be a successful leader in the radio industry today

If you answered yes, you may want to listen to some of the advice we pulled from Rex Hansen, who's retiring after a long and successful career in radio management. Hansen's final stop was a 19 year run as VP/GM for SummitMedia's cluster in Springfield, MO.

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.

Alex Cadelago is the Market Manager for Cumulus Media in Houston. Last month in Orlando, Alex won Radio Ink's Radio Wayne Award for Market Manager of the Year. Cumulus VP Dan Bennett is Alex' supervisor. “What makes Alex Cadelago a great leader is first and foremost his character. He is honest and trustworthy and people want to follow people like him."

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.

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.