Mays Family Ending Clear Channel Roles

Mark Mays

Continuing their withdrawal from the radio and billboard industries they transformed, Mark Mays said last week he will step down in May as chairman of CC Media Holdings Inc., and that his father, founder L. Lowry Mays, and brother will leave the board.

CC Media Holdings CEO Bob Pittman will take the title of chairman when Mays, 49, steps down.

“For all intents and purposes, Pittman already is chairman,” said Mays, who will remain a company director.

Mark's brother, Randall, 47, will leave the board in May. L. Lowry Mays, 77, will end his role as chairman emeritus in July, according to mysanantonio.com.

The Mays family has been phasing out their roles at the San Antonio-based radio and billboard giant since 2008 when about 70 percent of the company was sold to two Boston-based private equity firms, Bain Capital Partners LLC and THL Partners. About 30 percent of the company remains publicly traded.

After this summer, Mark Mays will be the only family member on the board, he said, and he will be the only San Antonian among the company's 12 directors.  Mays and his father and brother will remain shareholders.

Mark Mays said his departure as chairman, and Randall Mays' departure from the board, will become official at the CC Media Holdings' annual board meeting May 17 in San Antonio.

Mark Mays announced in 2010 that he would step down as CEO, which he did in 2011 when Pittman was named to replace him as chief executive. At that time, Mays stayed on as board chairman.

Pittman and other top executives live and work in New York City, but Mays said he does not see any move to relocate more of the company's corporate presence in San Antonio after Pittman becomes chairman.

CC Media Holdings owns more than 800 radio stations and about 700,000 outdoor advertising displays in 30 countries. The company and its Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. subsidiary employ about 20,800 people.

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