iHeartMedia taps former Microsoft exec as new CMO

iHeartMedia has hired Gayle Troberman to join the company as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Troberman most recently served a brief executive stint at IPG Mediabrands, but previously worked for 16 years at Microsoft. She held multiple advertising and marketing positions at the tech company, and eventually rose to the rank of chief creative officer. Prior to this hiring announcement, Troberman worked with iHeartMedia as a consultant on the project to rebrand itself from the Clear Channel name.

In her new position, Troberman will be responsible for iHeartMedia’s marketing agenda, as well as building ad programs with clients. For a radio and music conglomerate, that means streaming audio advertising, at least in part. Earlier in the summer, iHeartRadio announced a partnership with AdsWizz for monetizing streams. Under Troberman’s leadership, we can likely expect to see more interesting relationships and products in the advertising space for the iHeart brand.

Jeff Howard, iHeartMedia’s president of national sales, told RAIN earlier this month that the company is taking an assertive stance on using its data stores to improve marketing and ad opportunities. “You’ll see continued targetability – that’s the goal,” he said. “We need to make sure that [advertising] messages are relevant.”