Susan Davenport Austin was elected chairman of the board of directors of BMI on Tuesday, making her the first woman and first African-American elected to serve to the post. She succeeds Jack Sander.
Austin, most recently vice chair of BMI’s board of directors, is senior VP/CFO of Sheridan Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and president of the Sheridan Gospel Network. Prior to joining SBC, which her family founded in 1972, she spent 10 years in investment banking, specializing in telecommunications and media finance as VP in the Communications, Media and Entertainment group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. She also worked for Bear, Stearns & Co. and Salomon Brothers. Austin joined the BMI board in 2007.
Re-elected as members of the board along with Austin at the annual meeting in Nashville were Craig A. Dubow, former chairman/CEO, Gannett Co.; Paul Karpowicz, president, Meredith Broadcasting Group; Virginia Hubbard Morris, chair, Hubbard Radio and VP, Hubbard Broadcasting; and G. Neil Smith, president, GNS Media. They will serve terms that expire in 2015.
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Sander, the former vice chairman of Belo Corp., was elected presiding director at the meeting. Also continuing in their terms on the board are: Del R. Bryant, president/CEO, BMI; Amador Bustos, president, Bustos Media Holdings; N. John Douglas, chairman/CEO, AIM Broadcasting; Kenneth J. Elkins, former president/CEO, Pulitzer Broadcasting; Michael J. Fiorile, vice chairman/CEO, Dispatch Broadcast Group; Catherine L. Hughes, founder and chairperson, Radio One; Philip A. Jones; Jerome L. Kersting; Mark P. Mays, chairman, Clear Channel Communications; Mark Pedowitz, president, the CW Network; and Cecil Walker, former chairman and CEO, Gannett Broadcasting.