In this podcast, Heidrick & Struggles’ Victoria Reese speaks to Jordan Fasbender, executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary at iHeartMedia, the number-one audio company in America by reach. Fasbender discusses the lessons she learned as a first-time general counsel in 2020 and emphasizes how important it is to be able to trust and empower your team, take the time to establish deep relationships across the business, and to instill the idea of partnership between legal and business is critical. She also shares how she works with senior management, the chief diversity officer, and the chief communications officer to help develop and implement strategies and programs that cultivate and foster diversity at every level of iHeartMedia to ensure that they reflect their broad and diverse audiences.

Some questions answered in this episode include the following:

• (1:34) What was it like being a first-time general counsel in 2020?
• (2:20) What leadership skills and experiences have you found to be essential or have you leveraged to navigate this new role and leading your team?
• (3:22) Did iHeartMedia change or expand its content in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other events of 2020?
• (6:00) Diversity and inclusion and sustainability are core values and strategies for iHeartMedia. What are your plans as general counsel to help further these strategies going forward?
• (7:37) What's the most important way your organization is building on the lessons of 2020?

Below is a full transcript of the episode, which has been edited for clarity.

Welcome to the Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast. Heidrick is the premier global provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services. Diversity and inclusion, leading through tumultuous times, and building thriving teams and organizations are among the core issues we talk with leaders about every day, including in our podcasts. Thank you for joining the conversation.

Victoria Reese: Hi, I'm Victoria Reese, partner at Heidrick & Struggles and the global managing partner of the Legal, Risk, Compliance & Government Affairs Practice. In today's podcast, I'm talking to Jordan Fasbender, executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary at iHeartMedia, the number-one audio company in America by reach, specializing in radio, podcasts, digital, data, influencers, mobile, and events. Jordan is responsible for overseeing all legal, government affairs, and business affairs functions for iHeartMedia as divisions, and multi-platform assets, including more than 860 live broadcast stations in over 160 markets nationwide; iHeartPodcast, the number-one podcast platform in America; the iHeartMedia radio app; and the company's other digital assets and tent-pole live events.

Jordan, welcome, and thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.

Jordan Fasbender: Hi, Victoria. Thank you for having me.

Victoria Reese: Jordan, what was it like being a first-time general counsel in 2020?

Jordan Fasbender: It was an interesting and challenging time to step into this role. In addition to the more typical responsibilities, the job encompasses managing remote-work dynamics and return-to-office planning, and significant transformations we’d made in our business provided a lot of challenges, as well. But along with that, there were so many great experiences and lessons. One of the great things about working as in-house counsel, I find, is the variety of issues that you get to work on. And that’s what makes the job exciting. No day is ever the same and you're constantly learning and being challenged. And in this time more than ever, I was definitely being challenged.

Victoria Reese: Sounds like a lot. I know it is a lot. What leadership skills and experiences have you found to be essential or have you leveraged to navigate this new role and leading your team?

Jordan Fasbender: Being able to trust and empower your team is critical. I believe people will work better and are more invested if they have real responsibility. I also think that in this virtual world that we find ourselves in, making sure you take the time to have face time with your team is really important. You want to ensure that they are seen and they're heard. I also think taking the time to establish deep relationships across the business is critical. And to have a good team of both external and internal advisors is really key to any success. I want to make sure I understand the different stakeholders and issues and what we are trying to achieve.

And it's important to listen to different points of view. I also think instilling the idea of partnership between legal and business is critical. We want to be seen as partners to the business to help strategize and execute on their goals. So, we are there not only to provide support but are brought in early to develop strategy and goals. I find that to be one of the most exciting parts of the job.

Victoria Reese: I feel that while science saved us, music and podcasts got me and my family through 2020. Did iHeartMedia change or expand its content in response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Jordan Fasbender: Definitely hear you on podcasts and music! And I could not agree more—as a business, we had to—and we did—adapt quickly.

iHeartMedia and broadcast radio serve an important role in the lives of our listeners because we’ve built a connection to our audiences. They depend on us for trusted connection and community every day, particularly in times of crisis. Our stations work with the CDC and other local health organizations to inform and educate our listeners and communities about the most relevant COVID-19 information.

We also launched initiatives to help local businesses. We shifted morning show start times and expanded their broadcasts to match our listeners’ new work-from-home realities. We reimagined our live events and business, creating virtual events that raised money for COVID-related charities. We also launched the Black Information Network and, with Charlemagne tha God, the Black Effect Podcast Network, and many other successful podcasts, including “Stuff You Should Know,” “The Ron Burgundy Podcast,” “Paper Ghosts,” and “Noble blood.” The list really goes on and on. We found that during times like these, some laughter and comedy are really what our listeners needed. And some of our most popular podcasts were comedy podcasts, like “Fake Doctors, Real Friends.”

Victoria Reese: Well, thank you, because I depended on it. As a GC, how did you pivot when live events were not possible, and how do you help get live events up and safe again?

Jordan Fasbender: We very quickly pivoted in our overall approach to live events and created virtual events. We were the first media company to create a broadcast—a COVID-19 benefit special—the “iHeartMedia Living Room Concert for America” in partnership with Fox, which raised over $15 million for Feeding America. We quickly followed with “First Responder Fridays,” a commencement special, and an HBCU homecoming celebration. We even held four of our tent-pole events virtually, including the iHeartMedia Radio Music Festival and Jingle Ball Tour, as well as over a thousand local virtual events. These events were great ways to not only provide significant fundraising opportunities but also help support artists and connect them with our listeners.

And, while we're excited that we've discovered a way to do virtual events and plan for those to continue, we are even more excited because live music is back. I know I am, and we were so excited to bring it all to our listeners. We have the iHeartMedia Radio Music Festival in Las Vegas coming up in September, and recently had our iHeartMedia Radio Awards, which had a live masked audience. With all of our events, we work closely across the business through all our stakeholders and carefully review all local state and CDC laws and guidelines to make sure we have the proper policies and protocols in place.

Victoria Reese: You've already touched on some of the efforts here but, diversity and inclusion and sustainability are core values and strategies for iHeartMedia. What are your plans as general counsel to help further these strategies?

Jordan Fasbender: Broadcast radio is licensed by the government to operate in the communities which we serve and, at iHeartMedia, we take service to our communities and our society very seriously. We have a strong commitment to ESG initiatives that stems from our ties to the communities in which we live and work, especially in times of need.

As general counsel, I work across our organization and in particular with our senior management, chief diversity officer, and chief communications officer to help develop and implement strategies and programs that cultivate and foster diversity at every level of our company to ensure that we reflect our broad and diverse audiences. We've been developing a DE&I action plan to strengthen and accelerate our efforts. We also want to ensure that we promote diversity and equality across our programming. As I mentioned, earlier in the past year, we launched the Black Information Network pledge, that 50% of new podcasts we launch on the iHeartMedia podcast network will be from female minority creators, and launched the Black Effect Podcast Network, a joint venture with Charlemagne tha God, developed to amplify black creators and stories; TÚ 94.9 with Enrique Santos elevates Latinx stories and voices; and we will continue to hold virtual events like Living Black, Celebrating Black History Month, and Can't Cancel Pride, celebrating Pride Month. Prioritizing a diverse, equal, inclusive workforce and promoting and creating content that reflects that is something we are committed to, and which I believe is key to any success.

Victoria Reese: Well, you're giving me a lot of new ideas for podcasts that I'm going to check out. As we bring this conversation to a close, I wanted to ask one final question: What's the most important way your organization is building on the lessons of 2020?

Jordan Fasbender: Innovation has always been a core part of iHeartMedia's values. And, now more than ever, our employees have learned how to innovate, collaborate, and reimagine what our business can really be. And we're seeing that throughout all our business lines, including our podcasts and digital businesses, our ad tech platforms, and our core multi-platform business. It is really an exciting time to be in audio.

Victoria Reese: Jordan. Great to hear your voice. Thank you for making the time to speak with us today.

Jordan Fasbender: Great to talk to you, Victoria. Thank you for having me.

Thanks for listening to the Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast. To make sure you don’t miss more future-shaping ideas and conversations, please subscribe to our channel on the podcast app. And if you’re listening via LinkedIn, Twitter, or YouTube, why not share this with your connections? Until next time.

About the interviewer

Victoria Reese (vreese@heidrick.com) is the global managing partner of the Corporate Officers practices, head of the General Counsel Practice, and leads the global Legal, Risk, Compliance & Government Affairs Practice; she is based in Heidrick & Struggles’ New York office.