Key Exec Appointments at CC Outdoor and CC Airports

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. has appointed Renee Jordan as executive vice- president and chief strategy officer for its business in the U.S. and Canada.

Renee Jordan

Renee Jordan

In addition, it has appointed Mathew Johnson as vice-president of business enablement for Clear Channel Outdoor – North America, its business in the U.S. and Canada.

And over at Clear Channel Airports, Jon Sayer has been named senior vice-president.

Jordan reports to Suzanne Grimes, president and COO of Clear Channel Outdoor – North America, and joins the North American executive committee, led by Grimes. Her appointment emphasizes the importance of innovative new thinking at a pivotal moment in the out-of-home industry. In her new position, Jordan will lead strategic planning and business development to help Clear Channel Outdoor – North America to further its position as an out-of-home market leader.

Jordan will be responsible for creating new revenue opportunities by distinguishing the company with new offerings, capabilities and enhancements. Areas of focus will include emerging out-of-home technologies, mobile and social integration, digital product development, strategic partnerships and the architecture of new business models to accelerate growth. She will also facilitate collaboration across geographic and functional lines to drive efficiency and enhance project design and execution across Clear Channel Outdoor – North America’s new and existing businesses. This collaboration will be on both the national and local levels, with special emphasis on sales and related initiatives.

Jordan was recently Chief Marketing Officer of Reader’s Digest Association, leading the transformation of consumer marketing from traditional direct response to multi-channel and digitally-focused strategies. Jordan served in various roles at RDA over the past 12 years, including leading digital strategy for the international businesses and digital product development for U.S. brands. In each of her RDA roles, Jordan led company-wide transformation initiatives for RDA’s traditional media businesses. Prior to RDA, Jordan served in a variety of leadership roles with Primedia, Inc., where she oversaw consumer marketing, database and Internet source development for over 100 magazine properties.

“As mobile technology enables Americans to remain connected as they spend increasingly more time out of home, out-of-home advertising has the immediacy, the impact and the relevance to engage consumers more powerfully than any other medium,”
says Grimes. “With this promise and possibility, it’s critical that Clear Channel Outdoor – North America has the right strategic approach and commitment to excellence in execution. I am confident that Renee’s keen analytical thinking and experience as a transformation agent will help take our company and our partners to new levels of success.”

An expert in enterprise customer relationship management implementation and business process improvement, Johnson brings over a decade of business and technology consulting experience in digital advertising and media operations to his new role.

Reporting to Christian Aaselund, executive vice-president and chief information officer, Johnson will lead IT efforts to deliver innovative technology solutions and process improvements that enhance the company’s performance as market leader. Johnson will partner with stakeholders throughout the organization to define strategy-enabling initiatives, govern the project portfolio and lead implementation efforts. This new role will result in enablement of new business capabilities in support of strategic, revenue-generating initiatives; improved record keeping and data quality; streamlining of existing business process workflows; and facilitation of data-driven decision-making that supports the measurement and management of the business.

Johnson previously ran the Salesforce CRM practice at Madrona Solutions Group where he was responsible for quality, methodology, team development, marketing strategy, sales, and project accountability, inclusive of profit and loss responsibility for the group. Johnson has experience leading and delivering enterprise CRM projects for diverse and admired brands including Amazon, Microsoft, and Expedia.

“Clear Channel Outdoor is embracing technological evolution on several fronts, including the development of new advertising solutions, new measures of accountability and also the development of information technologies that enhance the effectiveness of our people and make our operations more profitable,” says Aaselund. “In addition to Mathew’s remarkable track record solving CRM challenges for technology-driven organizations, his experience delivering against multiple priority projects, leading and inspiring cross functional teams, and managing resources makes me confident that he will be instrumental in helping us profitably grow our business and exceed our clients’ expectations.”

At Clear Channel Airports, marketer of airport advertising and innovator of contemporary display concepts for airports, Sayer assumes his role reporting to Toby Sturek, executive vice-president of specialty businesses.

Sayer will lead key strategic aspects of Clear Channel Airport’s business and be responsible for the company’s new business development while also deepening the existing relationships Clear Channel Airports holds with major advertising clients and their agencies, as well as airport clients themselves — relationships that are typically defined by exclusive, long-term agreements.

Sayer brings more than 15 years’ experience delivering significant growth for world-class media organizations. Recently, he served as vice-president of the Comcast Media 360 division of Comcast Cable, where he led sales strategy with national, regional and local advertisers. There, he helped to define the cross platform value proposition of Comcast Media 360, leveraging the company’s TV, online, mobile, tablet and video on demand platforms, and then architected new multimillion dollar, multiplatform deals with key clients. Previously, Sayer served in several leadership roles with the Walt Disney Company where he distinguished himself as a top sales performer and established new TV networks as lucrative advertising businesses.

“Airport environments are a competitive microcosm within the out-of-home industry where technology is driving the development of new solutions that offer the more engaging, immersive brand experiences today’s marketers are looking for,” says Sturek. “Airports also often provide the environments where OOH innovations are tested and proven and Clear Channel Airports established its leadership position in the industry through a culture of continuous improvement, making airports worldwide more profitable. I am confident that Jon’s experience in driving client support for new media and new business models, as well as his track record inspiring winning teams, make him the right partner for me and the Clear Channel Airport’s team.”


Leave a Reply