After 32 years, Littlejohn is retiring from iHeartMedia

There’s another change to the staff roster of the nation’s leading audio content creation and distribution company, with a new person to address its technical and technological needs.

Jeff Littlejohn, a long time iHeartMedia exec, will retire as the company’s EVP of Engineering.

Steve George succeeds Littlejohn, who will continue to play “an active advisory role” for iHeartMedia and “bring his unique expertise that has helped the company grow over the past three decades.”

George will lead the entire technical operations, systems and engineering teams supporting iHeartMedia’s 860 local broadcast stations in 160 markets.

Littlejohn’s tenure at iHeartMedia dates back to the company’s founding in 1992, when Clear Channel Communications owned the Cincinnati stations where he started. There he was chief engineer and rose through the ranks in a company that was connected to the Jacor company run by Randy Michaels.

Littlejohn later played a key role in developing the first version of the iHeartRadio app; He also worked with Toyota and Ford on the first integration of iHeartRadio into their OEM dashboard entertainment systems. More recently, Littlejohn was instrumental in upgrading iHeartMedia’s studio facilities and transitioning to cloud-based audio systems.

Littlejohn is well respected in the industry and is the recipient of the 2014 NAB Radio Engineering Achievement Award. He is ranked 3rd RBR+TVBRs List of top tech leaders of 2024, up from #4 in 2023.

Hartley Adkins, The President of Markets Group for iHeartMedia commented: “There are few people in the industry who have the expertise and longevity of Jeff, and we are grateful for the incredible work he has done for iHeart. We have been fortunate to have relied on him for over three decades, and I am so grateful that we can continue to rely on Jeff in his new advisory role.”

Littlejohn added: “I am truly grateful for the incredible opportunity to have spent 32 years with such an innovative and forward-thinking company. It has been a privilege to work with so many talented colleagues to build something that serves our listeners and communities in meaningful ways. As I retire, I am committed to ensuring Steve George has a smooth transition and I look forward to continuing to serve in an advisory capacity, which will also allow me to spend more time with family and new adventures to explore.”

George, who began his career at iHeartMedia 23 years ago as chief engineer for the Sioux City, Iowa market, commented: “I am honored to take on this role and continue the incredible work Jeff has done for iHeartMedia. Jeff’s leadership and guidance have been invaluable to our engineering team, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from Jeff and many iHeart engineers over the years. I look forward to building on his legacy and the strengths of our outstanding engineering team.”

George was also Regional Director of Engineering at iHeartMedia in Omaha. as Regional VP of Engineering for the Midwest; and before his promotion to VP of Engineering and Systems, where he led many of iHeart’s centralized engineering teams.