Craig Karmazin (born July 11, 1975) is the founder and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Good Karma Brands (GKB), and the son of Mel Karmazin, former CEO of

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...

and former CEO of Viacom.

Early life and education

Karmazin was born in northern New Jersey,South Florida Business Journal: "Boyhood friends grow radio group" by Alexis Muellner
October 20, 2003IB Magazine: "Like Father, Like Son
April 2007 the son of Sharon and Mel Karmazin. His father is the former chief operating officer of

and former president and chief operating officer of Viacom. His mother is the retired director of the East Brunswick Library and established the Karma Foundation in 1996 to provide grants in support of organizations engaged in activities and programs in the areas of Arts & Culture, Autism, Education & Literacy, Health & Human Services and Development & Enrichment of Jewish Life. His parents divorced in 1994. His first job was selling bikes at The Sports Authority.Sports Business Daily: "Forty Under 40 – Craig Karmazin"
March 18, 2013 He graduated from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

with a B.B.A. He has one sister, Dina Leslie Karmazin Elkins (born 1971), and one daughter Harper Karmazin (born 2010).

Career

In 1997, Karmazin interned at Infinity-owned WIP in Philadelphia. In 1998, Karmazin founded Good Karma Broadcasting, a sports radio firm in

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake (Wisconsin), Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,708 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city primarily located in Dodge Co ...

, 40 miles northeast of

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. Karmazin liked the area due to its proximity to the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

campus as well as being in the heart of

Green Bay Packer The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. They are the third ...

territory. In 1997, he secured a $3.5 million loan from a New York City bank and purchased three radio stations in the Madison area and then went on to purchase more stations in small towns: two in Wisconsin and one in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

. He then entered larger markets purchasing a station

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

and two in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

( WAUK, and formerly,

WRRD WRRD may refer to: * WRRD (FM), a radio station (89.9 FM) licensed to Greensboro, Georgia, United States * WGKB, a radio station (1510 AM) licensed to Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States, which held the call sign WRRD from 2008 to 2020 * WAUK, a ...

),Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Son of Sirius CEO creates own radio mini-empire based in Beaver Dam" By Bill Glauber
July 28, 2012 and affiliated those stations with

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

. In 2006, he entered the Cleveland market simultaneously purchasing the gospel music station WABQ 1540 and the rights to the ESPN brand from sports talk station 850

WKNR WKNR (850 AM) – branded as ''850 ESPN Cleveland'' – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio and the AM flag ...

, reformatting WABQ as a sports station. A short time later, he purchased WKNR. The net cost for both stations was $9.5 million. As of 2012, Good Karma Broadcasting owns twelve radio stations in four states including eight ESPN-affiliated, sports radio stations. In 2012, Good Karma expanded its operations opening three remodeled houses near

Lambeau Field Lambeau Field () is an outdoor athletic stadium in the East North Central states, north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 Green ...

in Green Bay to entertain clients and fans as well as a Verizon Wireless store in Beaver Dam. On July 16, 2014, it was reported that Karmazin purchased a minority stake in the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA).Karmazin buys stake in Bucks – Fox 6 Now.com
/ref> Karmazin purchased the flagship station of the Packers and Brewers, WTMJ Radio, along with

WKTI WKTI (94.5 FM broadcasting, FM) – branded 94.5 ESPN Milwaukee – is a commercial Sports radio, sports radio station licensed to Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKTI is a ...

in the fall of 2018 from the E. W. Scripps Company, converting WKTI to a local sports station affiliated with ESPN Radio, with WAUK moving to a national schedule (WTMJ's schedule has remained as-is).

Awards and honors

* 2021 NBA Champion (as part owner of the

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karmazin, Craig 1975 births American chief executives 20th-century American Jews Emory University alumni Living people People from Fox Point, Wisconsin 21st-century American Jews