Bert Weiss’s Pionaire Podcasting has added its second executive this month with the hiring of Ben Juster as VP of Podcasting Operations at the talent network consultancy. Juster most recently served as Director of Podcast Sales Operations for iHeartMedia for the past two years.
“Ben is Pionaire’s Swiss army knife. He fits perfectly into our culture, and he’ll be instrumental in selecting content providers that fit our vision while also using the management and sales experience he honed at iHeartRadio to create curated revenue and digital content strategies,” Weiss, CEO of Pionaire, said in the announcement.
Juster spent the past six years at iHeartMedia’s podcasting division, rolling into the company after it bought Stuff Media in 2018. He earlier working in advertising, marketing, and media sales.
“Ben's energy, enthusiasm and vision for where we can take Pionaire is unmatched,” Pionaire Head of Marketing Chris Tuff says. “His digital marketing background combined with his robust experience at iHeartMedia makes him our new lethal weapon!”
Earlier this month Pionaire announced that it had hired radio veteran Mike Morse as its new President of Podcasting Operations. And in August it recruited Brittany Bernardo as Senior Director of Podcast Sales and Strategy.
Pionaire was formed in 2022 by Weiss, also a radio veteran best known for his work in the Atlanta market, and Tuff, a marketing vet. It is a full-service boutique talent network consultancy. Pionaire evaluates a brand, advises on content that works, and provides the groundwork for structuring and marketing a podcast.
“We have spent the last three years patiently learning about all the exciting, unique and untapped opportunities that podcasting has to offer – from content to sales to marketing and everything in between,” Weiss says. “If Pionaire was an airplane, our wheels would just be getting off the runway.”
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