Originally published on January 26, 2007
Todd Lawley

Leaving publicly traded radio behind, Peak
Broadcasting CEO enters ownership with an eye on midsized Western markets

Formed in December with a $90 million acquisition of CBS Radio’s seven-station cluster in Fresno, Calif., Peak Broadcasting is one of radio’s newest group owners. CEO Todd Lawley is a senior executive with a wealth of broadcast experience, coupled with intense passion and energy, along with a drive for achieving operational excellence.

Getting into the business: “I was 22 years old, working at Dunn & Bradstreet in Chicago and bored out of my mind. I went to get my résumé professionally written, and the person who wrote it was the wife of Mike Disney, who ran Major Market Radio in Chicago. She said, ‘You need to get into the radio business; my husband is with a rep firm.’ I didn’t know what a rep firm was. I blew it off and spent the summer playing volleyball. A few months later, I get a call from John Frye, the director of sales for Major Market. We met at a pizza place by my apartment. The next day I was in Mike’s office, and he’s telling me how tired he is of hearing about me from his wife. We talked, and he offered me an [account executive] job right on the spot. I worked in that office for about two years and got the regional job for McGavern Guild in San Francisco and then opened up Infinity Radio Sales in Los Angeles. I tired of the rep business and joined SFX Broadcasting in Tucson, then ended up with Clear Channel and eventually moved over to Citadel.”

Founding Peak Broadcasting: “I had been getting calls from equity firms interested in talking to me about building a group. I told everyone, ‘No thanks, I’m very happy at Citadel.’ Later, I hooked up with Duff Ackerman & Goodrich, who had backed Prism in the mid-’90s. We literally struck a deal on a Monday night, and I was supposed to be on an airplane Tuesday morning to help [COO] Judy Ellis run the regional meetings for Citadel in New York. Talk about scrambling. I left Citadel on Monday, and on Thursday I was in Fresno doing due diligence for our first acquisition.”

Liner Notes
Profile:
Todd Lawley
Title:
Peak Broadcasting CEO
Favorite radio format:
Country
Favorite TV show: “Two and a Half Men”
Favorite song:
“Amarillo by Morning” by George Strait
Favorite movie:
“Planet of the Apes”
Favorite book:
“I have a huge passion for reading books about pro and college coaches and athletes, and autobiographies. I am just fascinated by life stories.”
Favorite restaurant:
“Absolutely, hands down, Pico de Gallo in Tucson. It's the best Mexican food in the world.”
Beverage of choice:
“Naked juice, Blue Machine.”
Hobbies:
“My hobbies are focused around my family. I love traveling with my wife and my two kids—a 2-year-old and a 5-year old. And I like coaching kids’ sports.”
email address:
todd.lawley@
peakbroadcasting.com

Mission of the company: “We are focused on acquiring stations in midsized Western markets, [ranked] 30 through 100. That’s where my career was built and where I’ve had the most experience. The intent is to buy dominant clusters in four or five markets and focus them, and invest in marketing, branding and people. And to compete with the bigger companies across the street.”

Biggest challenges: “Prioritizing. Transitioning from running a large group of stations to focusing on just seven. Dealing with the bankers and the private-equity guys. We took over on Dec. 4, and we’ve already flipped a format. We heavily reinvested in our regional Mexican station, set mission statements, very clear expectations and daily forecasting. It’s been an absolute blast.”

State of radio: “It depends on where you are in the radio world. The public companies have got to get out of the grips of Wall Street, which is ruining radio. When you can’t reinvest in your brand or your talent, how are you going to win? There’s still pressure from private equity, but when I compete against a public company that’s not reinvesting in their brand and their people, it puts me at a distinct advantage because I can move quickly. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with radio. I can point to a lot of different examples where radio is thriving.”

Career highlight: “Building the Western region for Citadel. We had an incredible team with a great vision and a plan we executed flawlessly. We had such big pacing and a lot of support from [chairman/CEO] Farid [Suleman] and Judy [Ellis]. We all worked together, communicated and we took a lot of chances that paid off. Another highlight was when, with a little 1,000-watt AM, I took the University of Arizona broadcast rights away from 22-year incumbent Clear Channel. And lastly is I’m self-made in the business. I did it my way, on my own terms, and that feels good.”

Career disappointment: “No, there’s really not any. I had a great run on the rep side, on the local and regional sides and now in ownership. It shows anybody can do it. My brother Greg did it another way on the record-promotion side. Here’s two guys coming from a small town in Illinois that have done pretty well in the radio business.”

Most influential individual: “[SWMX COO and former Citadel West region president] Bill Figenshu has been a big influence. He and I did some great work together, and we still talk every day. Judy certainly has been a huge influence. She and I were such a great team, and she made a lot of things happen for me. She took some chances, and I will always be grateful to her. Not only is she a great person, she’s a great, great radio operator. And she works harder than anybody and sets a great example.”

Advice for broadcasters: “Challenge authority a little bit. If you’ve got a passion for something and you think it’s going to work, take a chance. Don’t just go with the flow. We need to take more chances in this business.”

‘The public companies have got to get out of the grips of Wall Street, which is ruining radio. When you can’t reinvest in your brand or your talent, how are you going to win?’ —Todd Lawley