Lew Dickey

Lew Dickey is an entrepreneur and media executive with over 30 years of industry experience.

In 1996, Dickey conceived a plan to take advantage of the 1996 Telco Act to consolidate the radio market. He identified a partner to help raise capital and Cumulus was launched in May of 1997. Cumulus went public through an IPO in 1998 and Dickey, who spent the first two years building the platform through multiple acquisitions, became Chairman & CEO in 2000 and served in that capacity for 16 years.

Over 19 years, Dickey built Cumulus into the nation’s second largest radio company, growing it to 460 stations in 90 markets and the country’s largest radio network, Westwood One with $1.2 billion in revenue and 6,500 employees.

In addition to Cumulus, Dickey is also co-founder and chairman of DM Luxury which acquired Modern Luxury Media in 2010 and built it into the country’s largest regional magazine company with 68 magazines in the top 20 luxury markets including titles: Manhattan, Angeleno, Chicago Social, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Dallas, DC, Houston, Atlantan, Miami, San Diego, Scottsdale and Aspen magazines.

Dickey holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English Literature from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Dickey has been named Executive of the Year by Radio Ink magazine, and Broadcasting CEO of the Year by Institutional Investor magazine. He is also the author of The Franchise – Building Radio Brands, recognized as a definitive text on radio competition and strategy.