Great Lakes Media Corp. Wednesday announced the first of several appointments to the Board and Senior Leadership Team – and announced its intentions to shift the company’s focus to larger market acquisition opportunities.
Tom Langmyer, CEO of Great Lakes Media, has added several experienced and respected names to the team, as the company moves to become a significant player in local media in the U.S.
- Board/Advisor – John Gehron
- Sr. VP, Business & Corp Development – Chris Petersen
- Sr. Vice President, Digital – Bill Zaccheo
- Sr. Vice President, Broadcast – Gabe Hobbs
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| John Gehron |
In Chicago, Gehron spent 13 years in the 70s and 80s as Program Director and later General Manager of WLS. He re-joined CBS Radio to be General Manager of WODS in Boston, then returned to Chicago with Pyramid Broadcasting as Vice President and General Manager of WNUA-FM. There he created a national standard for the “smooth jazz” format that became a major factor in the nation’s third largest radio market.
Following Chicago, Gehron moved on to senior officer and COO positions at American Radio Systems and Infinity Broadcasting. He served as Senior Vice President of Programming for all of Infinity/CBS.
John was Regional Vice President and Market Manager for Clear Channel Chicago’s seven stations as well as handling the surrounding region including Madison, Milwaukee and Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
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| Chris Peterson |
Petersen serves as CEO of On Brand Media, which works with clients to help them navigate the rapidly evolving business landscape. Previously, he was President & CEO of Brandstand Group, a national chain restaurant brand development firm.
He was President & CEO of broadband services (cable) provider Prime Time Broadband, Senior Vice President for Space Media at aerospace company SPACEHAB, President & CEO at PR services firm NewsUSA, President of the NSE Radio Network, General Manager of radio station and newspaper owner Lakes Country Communications and Producer of Space Shuttle Television at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Petersen started his career in Western New York at several stations before heading to Houston, where he served as a news anchor for KTRH, producer for KPRC, air personality for KYST, KBTL and KRBE and as Program Director for KXKX. He also was a sportscaster for KHOU-TV in Houston.
Zaccheo has gained a broad-reaching and in-depth knowledge of business development, operations, marketing, programming, sales and general management for both start-ups and established enterprises. He has supplemented his corporate experience through a broad range of high-level consulting projects in today’s explosive digital environment; the combination of which uniquely positions him at the forefront of today’s media sector as both a visionary and a seasoned executive.
Throughout his career, Zaccheo has been at the cutting edge of new content and delivery systems. He championed one of the first efforts to stream video, both live and on-demand, via the Internet in 1998 with the multi-award winning ComedyNet.com. He was Senior Executive on the founding management team that created and launched E! Entertainment Television, the team that launched the NFL on ESPN, and the early rollouts of HBO and Cinemax.
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| Gabe Hobbs |
He has served as President of Gabe Hobbs Media, a talent management, content development and media consulting company. In that role, he worked with television, radio and digital media. Hobbs clients have included The Wall Street Journal, The Dave Ramsey Show, the Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Club, The Blaze, ABC, CBS, Mike Huckabee and dozens of others, including several of the top radio station groups. He has also worked with technology companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, including Futuri Media.
Hobbs has also worked with individual talent including Todd Schnitt, Deminski & Doyle, Dennis Miller, Marilu Henner, The Fabulous Sports Babe and many others. He also teams with Don Anthony’s Talent Masters to present the annual Talk Show Boot Camp for sports, news and talk talent, which is now in its tenth year. Hobbs started out in music radio. Later, at Jacor Communications, he added news/talk/sports stations to his responsibilities while managing the southeast region.
He later oversaw the programming of Clear Channel (iHeart) Radio’s 280 news, talk & sports stations. Hobbs also worked with Premiere Radio Networks, where he was involved the Rush Limbaugh Show, the Glenn Beck Program, Trumped with Donald Trump, Costas on the Radio with Bob Costas and The Dr. Laura Program. Additionally, he oversaw the launch of the Fox Sports Radio Network.
“As we have built the company, we have been fortunate to partner with some of the most accomplished, respected and known leaders in media.” Stated Tom Langmyer, CEO, Great Lakes Media Corp. “John Gehron, Chris Petersen, Bill Zaccheo and Gabe Hobbs” represent the first announced in a stellar group of people to build tomorrow’s local media platform model.”
Great Lakes Media Corp. was formed in November of 2018, with the initial intent to target media acquisitions in small communities. In a very short time, interest and support has shifted Great Lakes focus toward the acquisition of media properties and groups which operate in large markets. However, the vision remains the same, which is to invest in local broadcasting and digital media opportunities through the acquisition of local radio stations and digital platforms.
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