iHeartMedia, Inc.
Leadership History
4 leaders · 1972 to present
Bob Pittman is the CEO of iHeartMedia, in the role since 2011. The first chief executive was L. Lowry Mays, from 1972.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Bressler | President, COO and CFO | 2013 | Present | 13 |
| Bob Pittman | Chairman and CEO | 2011 | Present | 15 |
| Mark Mays | President and CEO of Clear Channel | 1989 | 2010 | 21 |
| L. Lowry Mays | Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 1972 | 2004 | 32 |
iHeartMedia is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with major operations in New York City. It is the largest U.S. owner of radio stations, with about 860 stations in roughly 160 markets. It also runs the iHeartRadio app, the iHeartPodcasts network, Premiere Networks syndication, the Katz Media rep firm and Triton Digital. Its Nasdaq ticker is IHRT. Bob Pittman, co-founder of MTV, has been CEO since 2011 and chairman since 2013.
iHeartMedia earns almost all of its money from advertising, sold through two reporting segments plus a smaller services unit. The Multiplatform Group sells local and national spots on about 860 AM/FM stations, plus network and syndicated programming through Premiere Networks and sponsorships around events. In 2025, broadcast radio brought in $1.633 billion, networks $439.8 million and sponsorship and events $182.0 million. The Digital Audio Group sells ads in podcasts and in streaming on the iHeartRadio app and partner platforms. That segment made $1.329 billion in 2025 ($563.7 million from podcasts) and had the highest margins in the company, with a segment Adjusted EBITDA margin of 33.8% in Q2 2026. The Audio & Media Services Group, made up of Katz Media representation and Triton Digital ad technology and measurement, added $272.5 million. Listeners pay nothing; advertisers pay for reach, and more of that buying now happens programmatically. iHeart expects about $200 million of programmatic revenue in 2026.
President, COO and CFO
2013 – Present
13 years (current)
Bressler managed the incredibly complex, multi-year Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring that successfully wiped out over $10 billion of the company's crushing legacy debt.
As President, COO, and CFO, he is the primary financial architect attempting to pivot the massive legacy terrestrial radio empire into the highly lucrative, fast-growing podcasting industry.
Chairman and CEO
2011 – Present
15 years (current)
Renamed Clear Channel as iHeartMedia in 2014, built out iHeartRadio and the podcast network, led the company through its 2018-2019 Chapter 11, and signed the 2025-2026 Netflix video podcast partnership.
Under Pittman, iHeartMedia went from a debt-laden radio group to a company that gets about a third of its revenue from digital audio and podcasts ($1.329B in 2025).
President and CEO of Clear Channel
1989 – 2010
21 years
Mays executed the highly controversial, massive $18.7 billion leveraged buyout of the company by private equity firms in 2008, loading the company with catastrophic debt right before the financial crisis.
Serving as CEO after his father (the founder) stepped down, he oversaw the company during its peak monopoly phase before the massive debt burden ultimately forced the company into bankruptcy in 2018.
Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
1972 – 2004
32 years
Mays founded Clear Channel Communications in San Antonio in 1972 with one radio station.
He built it into the largest US radio owner after ownership limits were lifted in 1996. His son Mark succeeded him as chief executive in 2004.
iHeartMedia faces three main problems. First is debt: management cited about $4.7 billion of net debt and roughly 6.9x net leverage in May 2026, so interest payments eat into operating cash flow and refinancing risk weighs on the stock. Second, broadcast radio is in structural decline. Multiplatform Group revenue fell 4.2% in 2025 and another 2% in Q2 2026, when its segment Adjusted EBITDA dropped 39%. Third, the podcast and streaming markets are crowded with much larger and richer rivals such as Spotify, SiriusXM, Amazon, YouTube and Apple. In response, iHeart is cutting costs ($125 million of in-year savings targeted for 2026) and leaning on podcasts and video to drive growth.
Bob Pittman is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iHeartMedia. A well-known media and entertainment pioneer, Pittman co-founded MTV at age 27, served as CEO of AOL Networks, President and COO of America Online (AOL), CEO of Six Flags, and CEO of Time Warner Enterprises before joining iHeartMedia in 2011.
Bob Pittman rebranded Clear Channel to iHeartMedia in 2014, built the iHeartRadio digital app to 160M+ users, created the #1 podcast network in the world, guided the company through a successful 2019 financial debt restructuring, and established iHeart as an ad-tech audio leader.
Rich Bressler serves as the President, Chief Operating Officer (COO), and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of iHeartMedia. A former CFO of Time Warner and Viacom, Bressler partners closely with Bob Pittman to manage corporate operations, financial structure, and strategic M&A.
L. Lowry Mays was the co-founder, longtime CEO, and Chairman of Clear Channel Communications from 1972 to 2004. An investment banker and petroleum engineer, Mays utilized the 1996 Telecommunications Act deregulation to assemble the largest radio and outdoor billboard empire in history.
Mark Mays (son of founder Lowry Mays) served as CEO from 2004 to 2010, overseeing the historic $24 billion private equity buyout by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners in 2008 and spinning off Live Nation into an independent live entertainment company.
Conal Byrne serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group. Byrne led the acquisitions of Stuff Media (HowStuffWorks) and Triton Digital, scaling the iHeartPodcast Network into the world's #1 commercial podcast publisher.
Greg Ashlock serves as the CEO of the Multiplatform Group at iHeartMedia, overseeing operations, sales, and community programming across all 860+ broadcast radio stations, Premiere Networks, Total Traffic & Weather, and live event productions.
iHeartMedia's Board of Directors features independent entertainment, tech, and financial veterans, chaired by Bob Pittman alongside independent directors who oversee audit, talent compensation, cybersecurity, and strategic capital allocation.
Bob Pittman serves as CEO. He is an absolute legend in media (having famously co-founded MTV). He took over in 2011 and executed a massive rebrand, changing the highly toxic "Clear Channel" name to "iHeartMedia" to focus on the digital app. He successfully navigated the brutal 2018 bankruptcy and orchestrated the massive pivot into podcasting.
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