Lamar Smith will take over technical management of the company’s 57 radio systems

At the end of August there will be two important changes to the Beasley Media Group’s technical leadership team.

Lamar Smith is promoted to Director of Corporate Engineering. At the same time, Mike Cooney, previously Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Engineering, is leaving the company.

Smith has been with the company since 2011, most recently serving as VP of Engineering for six years. Prior to Beasley, Smith held senior engineering positions at Entercom.

“In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing all engineering activities at Beasley’s 57 radio locations across the United States,” the company said. He will continue to be based in Charlotte, NC.

“Lamar’s commitment, dedication and experience are exactly what we need as the company continues to evolve and innovate,” CEO Caroline Beasley said in the announcement.

Meanwhile, Mike Cooney confirmed that the company had eliminated his position.

He posted on LinkedIn: “After 17 great years as CTO at Beasley Media Group, I am leaving the company and looking for my next opportunity in media or engineering management.”

A recipient of the Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award, Cooney has made a name for himself in the U.S. commercial radio engineering community. He is a former chair of the NAB’s Radio Technology Committee and a member of the Broadcast Traffic Consortium’s Technical Committee. Before joining Beasley in 2007, he spent eight years as Director of Engineering and IT at Entercom. He has also worked for AVI Systems, Video Masters and Radio One.

“We would like to thank Mike Cooney for his many years of service to the company,” Chief Communications Officer Heidi Raphael wrote to Radio World. “His last day will be August 31. Mike will continue to work on special projects on behalf of the organization.”

(See also: “Cooney helps Beasley look ahead”)