Earlier this week, Quu announced that it had struck an extension with CEO Steve Newberry for the radio veteran to remain in the post.
After joining the company in 2020, Newberry signed a three-year deal to remain with the industry leader in visual components for radio brands and companies.
He said there was a simple reason why he signed on for an additional term with the company.
“I love what I’m doing,” Newberry admitted.
Newberry added that as he’s grown older — he’s now 62 — he’s put into perspective that he’s coming closer and closer to the end of his career. Which is why he only signed on for three more years.
“Three years from now, I’ll be 65. I hope I’m working with Quu for a long time to come,” he shared. “But I thought, ‘Let’s sync it up to that 65 age, and then we’ll see if I’m what Quu needs, and if Quu is what I need three years from now.’ But I can’t imagine that I would want to do something else. I really love this product and really love the people I’m working with.”
The people that he’s working with at Quu are what Steve Newberry is most proud of assembling during his first five years with the organization.
“I work with outstanding people,” he said.
Despite being 62 and considering where the end of the line for his career might be, Newberry said he maintains his passion for the radio industry, which fuels him to keep moving the company forward.
“I love radio. Anybody who knows me knows that I am a radio junkie,” he said. “I love this medium. I love what it means to the communities that we serve. And I love what it means to our nation. So the part that makes me excited about this is I feel like this is such a next opportunity for radio to really connect with listeners from a programming standpoint and generate revenue from a sales standpoint,” he continued. ‘So it’s been just a terrific experience, and that’s why I’m so excited about it.”
The exposure that Quu has been able to generate under Newberry’s stewardship is another bright spot he points to when thinking about his proudest moments leading the company.
“I think we’ve raised the awareness of the opportunity for the industry,” he shared. “I think we have helped the industry understand that this is the technology that not just needs to be maintained, but there’s a lot of growth opportunity with it. It’s so much more than just song title and artist. There’s so much more engagement opportunity. I think the team that we put together and the ability to really paint a different picture of what screen displays can be for the radio industry, that’s what I’m most proud of, looking back.”
Since joining the company in 2020, Newberry has been instrumental in expanding the footprint of the brand. Today, more than 2,000 radio stations use the patented technology developed by Quu to bring music, content, and advertising messages to car dashboard.
Newberry added that, in addition to signing the contract extension, he’s excited and encouraged about some of the products the company is planning to release in the coming months.
Before joining Quu, Steve Newberry served as the Joint Board Chair and Executive Vice President at the National Association of Broadcasters. Additionally, he served as the founder and chairman of Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation, with stations in his home state of Kentucky.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
