The National Association of Broadcasters will have a new chief operating officer come Feb. 1.
Chris Ornelas, who has been with NAB for a decade, will depart to join Beasley Media Group, where he’ll oversee legal matters for the media company as its general counsel.
He will be replaced by Curtis LeGeyt, NAB’s executive vice president of government relations.
Ornelas joined NAB in 2010 as executive vice president and chief strategy officer and was promoted to COO the next year. Prior he had been the chief counsel on communications and technology for then-Senator Gordon Smith, now NAB’s president/CEO.
LeGeyt has been with NAB since 2011 as senior vice president and legislative counsel, and then senior vice president, public policy before being promoted to his current role in 2015. He also is a former senior counsel to then-Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy.
In the announcement, Smith saluted both men and noted LeGeyt for his “superb management skills, the victories that NAB Government Relations has delivered on Capitol Hill, and his dedication to the mission of NAB and local broadcasting.”
[Related: NAB EVP Newberry Plans Exit]
Also, NAB has promoted three senior VPs — April Carty-Sipp, Shawn Donilon and Trish Johnson — to executive vice president.
April Carty-Sipp was promoted to EVP of Industry Affairs, succeeding Steve Newberry, who had announced earlier that he will be leaving to become CEO at technology company Quu.
Shawn Donilon was promoted to EVP of Government Relations, replaces LeGeyt.
Trish Johnson becomes EVP of Finance/Chief Financial Officer.
