The letter from Glenn below was circulated to the staff of Mercury Radio Arts and we are excited to share it with all of you now:
This past year has been memorable - for our collective success and for the important perspective it provided as we look ahead to 2015. As you may know, I have been through some things on a personal level over the past few years, but have come out stronger with an even clearer sense of purpose and direction and I am very excited for what the future holds. I am a fan of pivot points, because when you experience and understand them – they can change your life in very positive ways.
Let’s take a minute to reflect on where we are today and how well positioned we are going forward. As we look to the future, I am very excited to share with you that Betsy Morgan, who has been President and Chief Strategy Officer, will be our new CEO. Betsy will work to build on our success with Chris Balfe, who has meant so much for me personally and for the company.
Seventeen years ago a 16-year-old kid drove to a local coffee shop to meet me to discuss a charity website I was trying to launch. He was the most professional and dynamic 16-year-old I had ever met. I hired him. Which at the time, I think meant I got him concert tickets and steak dinners. When I first launched my radio show nationally, I hired him again and this time for slightly more than steak dinners, but honestly not much more. Chris Balfe has been my friend and the CEO of Mercury Radio Arts for 12 years. He has helped me launch every product line and every new crazy adventure and we have done well together. Twelve best-selling books, a leading website, a top radio channel, and a cable channel – a cable channel are you kidding me?
I know it is going to be a hard act to follow; under Chris’ watchful eye we have done things that no group of people our size have ever done, things that people thought were impossible. We proved them wrong. And I think that under the leadership of our new CEO, Betsy, we will continue to prove that there is another way and we'll confound the skeptics again.
Betsy has been with us for almost four years. She helped build theblaze.com and knows our culture, knows our mission, she knows you, you know her and she knows me. More than that, Betsy has helped me evolve, pushed me out of my comfort zone and has helped define the thinking of where this company needs to go. Unbeknownst to many, Betsy has already moved our place in the world forward.
The end of the year is always a time for reflection and gratitude and I want to thank all of you for your commitment and to reinforce my commitment to you.
I look forward to sharing our 2015 plan in January. But until then, Revolutionary THINKING, EVOLUTIONARY steps.