Five months after emerging from bankruptcy, Audacy has set a new senior management team — including Kelli Turner’s appointment as permanent president and CEO — while also announcing the departure of four top execs from the radio and podcast company.
Turner, an Audacy board member and former managing director of Sun Capital Partners, had been serving as interim president and CEO since January when former CEO David Field stepped down. In addition to her appointment as chief executive on a permanent basis, Audacy named Chris Oliviero (formerly market president for New York) as chief business officer and Bob Philips (previously president of networks and multi-market sales) as chief revenue officer.
Also Monday, the company announced the departures of four senior execs: COO Susan Larkin, chief digital officer J.D. Crowley, chief marketing officer Paul Suchman and general counsel and EVP Andrew Sutor. Mike Dash (previously the company’s deputy general counsel) has been named EVP and general counsel, succeeding Sutor, who will “stay on for a transition period,” Audacy said. The company said Dash has been with Audacy’s companies for nearly two decades.
Earlier this month, Audacy conducted a broad round of layoffs, cutting about 200 employees across divisions.
Audacy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year as it looked to reduce its debt load. The one-time publicly traded company emerged from bankruptcy in September 2024 under a new ownership group led by controlling shareholder Soros Fund Management.
“On behalf of the Audacy board, we are delighted that Kelli Turner has agreed to take on the permanent president and CEO role and lead Audacy through its next phase of reinvention and growth,” said Michael Del Nin, chairman of Audacy and the lead media investor in Soros Fund Management. “She is an exceptional media executive who, along with Chris Oliviero and the rest of the Audacy team, will ensure we continue to invest in high-quality content to engage our audiences and provide best-in-class solutions to our partners.”
Turner has served on the Audacy board since September 2024. She has also served on the boards of directors of several ad and music technology companies, including DoubleVerify, Downtown Music Holdings and Central European Media Enterprises. Turner most recently was managing director and CFO of private investment firm Sun Capital Partners. Prior to joining Sun Capital Partners, she was president and CEO of SESAC Holdings, a music licensing and rights management company owned by Blackstone. She has also served in various executive and leadership roles in the investment and media industries, including RSL Group, Martha Stewart Living, Time Warner, Allen & Co. and Citigroup.
“It’s a privilege to lead Audacy at this exciting moment in its impressive history and the evolution of audio,” Turner said in a statement. “This is one of the most dynamic businesses in media and entertainment, and I am looking forward to partnering with Chris Oliviero and all of our teams to build on our momentum with audiences, creators and advertisers. I’m especially excited by the appointments of Chris and Bob, who know Audacy’s businesses inside out and whose track records in management, programming and sales are second to none.”
Oliviero, Audacy’s new chief business officer, has served as market president in New York since 2020 and spent more than 23 years at CBS Radio (which became part of Audacy in 2017). He started his career as a production assistant on “The Howard Stern Show” and took on progressively more senior programming roles.
Philips joined CBS Radio in 1996 and later served as chief revenue officer for CBS Radio and Entercom Communications. Following Entercom’s rebranding as Audacy in 2021, Philips moved into his most recent role as president of Audacy Networks and Multi-Market Sales.
