iHeartMedia has named Lainie Fertick its first-ever Chief Insights Officer. The promotion caps a 20-plus-year climb that started with an internship.
What We Know: Fertick joined Critical Mass Media, iHeart’s research firm, as an intern in 2004. From there, she rose to become CMM President and General Manager. Then, in 2024, she added President of iHeartMedia Insights to her title. Now, she will oversee insights across radio, podcasting, talent, sales and attribution, music research, user experience and audience analytics.
What They Said: Lainie Fertick (via LinkedIn): “Same great gig, new title: Chief Insights Officer at iHeartMedia!”
What Remains Unclear: The company did not state if the previous title Fertick owned will remain or any successor named. It’s also unclear, based on Fertick’s comment, if there’s any additional oversight with the new title.
What It Means: Ultimately, the move shows how heavily iHeart now leans on research. Fertick will keep a key role in AudioGraph, its data and programmatic platform. Additionally, she will continue overseeing the annual white papers, including “The Human Consumer,” which shaped iHeart’s “Guaranteed Human” positioning. Meanwhile, she still reports to Tom Poleman and joins the StratCom leadership team.
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