Jeff Smulyan, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Smulyan is a cum laude
graduate of the University of Southern California with a B.A. in History
and Telecommunications. After operating two radio stations, one in Indianapolis,
the other in Omaha, Smulayn formed Emmis in 1980. He became the primary
shareholder. With Smulyan's leadership Emmis Communications has become a
very successful company in the field of telecommunications, owning and operating
15 television stations, 25 radio stations, 7 magazines. Smulyan also serves
as co-chair on the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, a member of Ball
State University's
Board
of Trustees. In 1995, R&R Magazine voted Smulyan one of the most
influential radio executives of the past two decades. In 1994, the White
House named Smulyan the head of the U.S. Delegation of Plenipotentiary
Conference of International Telecommunications Union. Smulyan represented
the United States as an ambassador. Over the past twenty-three years Jeff
Smulyan has led Emmis Communications to be one of the top telecommunications
corporations. Currently Smulyan earns $901,125 per year. (
Emmis: Jeff Smulyan,
Multex
Investor)
Walter Z. Berger, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Berger, 46, is a cum laude graduate
of the University of Massachusetts with a B.B.A. He has over twenty
years of experience with corporate finance. Berger has worked for many large,
diverse corporations including the $3.3 billion dollar marketing division
of LG&E energy corporation. Berger also serves on many different
civic boards and committees. Currently, Berger earns $877,372 per year. (
Emmis: Walter Berger,
Multex
Investor)
Gary Kasseff, Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Kasseff has held his position
at Emmis Communications since 1998. Before coming to Emmis Kasseff was a
partner of the law firm Epport & Kasseff, was the president of the
Seattle
Mariners, and practiced law in southern California. Kasseff has
a current salary of $877,372 per year. (
Emmis: Gary Kasseff,
Multex
Investor)
Rick Cummings, President of Radio Division
Cummings, 49, is a Magna Cum
Laude graduate of Butler University. From 1973 to 1981 Cummings was
an on-air at WFMS, Indianapolis, a talk show host at WITC, Hartford and WSMB
New Orleans, and program director at WNTS, News Talk in Indianapolis. In
1981, Cummings first joined Emmis as program director of Emmis's flagship
station
WENS-FM, Indianapolis. In 1984, he became the
national program director for Emmis. Then in 1987, Cummings became Executive
Vice President of programming. In 1991, Cummings moved to Los Angeles to become
the program director for
KPWR-FM.
While still keeping his corporate duties, Cummings brought Power 106 back
to top ratings and founded the Knowledge is Power foundation raising over
one million dollars for L.A.'s youth. In 2002, Cummings became the
president of the Emmis Radio Division and in the past few months he has re-luanched
stations in Indianapolis and New York City, and signed on
Slager
Radio, in Hungary. Currently, Cummings is earning $835,740 per
year. (
Emmis:
Rick Cummings,
Multex
Investor)
Randy Bongarten, President of Television Division
Bongarten, 51, has a B.A. in
Economics from Oberlin College and a M.A. and M.S. in journalism from Columbia
University. Before joining Emmis Communications, Bongarten was the
president of NBC Radio from 1984-1988. He worked with Emmis from 1988-1992,
holding many positions including Executive Vice President of the Radio Division.
In 2000, he was named the President of the Television Division, where he
oversees the company's 15 stations across the country. He is also the co-chair
of the Radio License Committee and also has served on the board of directors
of both the National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising
Bureau. Currently, Bongarten earns $434,962 per year at Emmis Communications.
(
Emmis: Randy Bongarten,
Multex
Investor)
Gary Thoe, President of Publishing Division
Thoe, 45, has a B.A. and M.A.
in chemical engineering from Purdue University and an M.B.A. from Indiana
University. Thoe has been president of the Emmis Publishing Division since
1998. Before coming to Emmis, Thoe was the publisher of
Indianapolis Monthly, from
1984-1988. He served as president of Mayhill Publications, Inc., and publisher
of AntiqueWeek and FarmWeek newspapers from 1982-2000. Thoe's salary
is unavailable. (
Emmis: Gary Thoe)
Paul Fiddick, President of Emmis International
Fiddick, 52, is a graduate of
the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. He served as Assistant
Secretary of Administration for the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1999-2001.
He co-founded the Heritage Media Corp. in 1982, and was president of its
24 station radio division. From 1982-1986 he served as president of Multimedia
Inc. Fiddick also served on the board of directors of the National Association
of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau. At Emmis, Fiddick oversees
the international radio stations,
Mega
98.3,
Radio 10 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and
Slager
Radio in Budapest, Hungary. Fiddick's current salary is unavailable.
(
Emmis: Paul
Fiddick)
As stated in Emmis Communication's
letter to their shareholders, one of the major items they are planning for
2003 is splitting their radio and television groups. They wish the two departments
to be two separate entities. Smulyan also states in the letter that they
will continue to "outperform their peers by posting the highest margins in
our business."
Letter to the Shareholders
2002
Press Releases/News Stories Describing Upcoming Plans
Clear Channel - Clear channel owns
and operates much of what can be heard or seen. The company owns over
1,200 radio stations and is the worlds largest outdoor advertising companies.
Clear Channel also owns 37 American television stations.
Cumulus Broadcasting
- Cumulus is the second largest radio station ownership group, behind
Clear Channel. Cumulus owns and operates
260 radio stations throughout the country.
Infinity
Broadcasting Corporation - Infinity is a subsidiary of
Viacom and owns 185 radio stations in the United
States. Infinity is also the United State's largest outdoor advertising
company with over one million ads throughout the U.S. and Europe.