Nearly 300 alumni, faculty, students and friends of Detroit Mercy gathered April 28 to honor seven alumni of University of Detroit, Mercy College of Detroit and University of Detroit Mercy. One alumnus from each college or school was chosen to receive the award for their success in their chosen field and their work in the community. We will share with you videos of each awardee’s comments over the next week or so; we hope you find them as inspiring as we do.
John P. Hayes, Jr. ’71 — College of Liberal Arts & Education
Retired
A veteran broadcaster, Hayes has been a leader in the radio industry in the United States, Canada and Europe for decades.
He began his career in 1972 as a sales rep in Buffalo, N.Y., advancing to sales manager, then general manager. His reputation as a leader and innovator took him across the country, managing radio stations in Seattle, San Francisco and New York. He is credited with turning around Fairmont Communications Corporation and launched Alliance Broadcasting, which in 1996 was sold to Infinity Broadcasting. He next took his skills to London, where he was a media consultant to Goldman Sachs International Principal Investment Area. While there he became an investor and director of Orbus, a holding company whose assets included a French national radio network and a major outdoor advertising company that operates in France and Spain. From 2001-09 he was President, Radio of Corus Entertainment, Canada’s largest radio company, where he is credited with a transformational turnaround. In 2009, he became CEO and owner of Third Avenue Media, LLC, an investment vehicle for radio station acquisition based in New York. He is recently retired.
He is noted for his strategic management, for implementing strong codes of ethics and innovations that have led the industry toward more transparency for advertisers.
