“Within the next few years BA will be playing an extremely prominent role in the international and Hispanic markets,” says Harold Austin who serves as vice president of Broadcast Architecture’s BA / Hispanic Division. “Stations throughout Latin America have a dramatic need for solid research and well planned strategies and BA is already doing tremendous work in advancing the success of these stations in their respective markets.”   

Austin, who was born in San Francisco and grew up in Guatemala, says he fell in love with radio as a kid.  When he moved to the United States he worked for several stations in California including San Francisco’s legendary powerhouse, KMEL and The Beat in Los Angeles. Austin was also in charge of launching the nation’s first Jammin’ Oldies station – Mega 100.  After successfully bringing Jammin’ Oldies to Southern California he became an instrumental player in launching the format with stations in New York; Chicago; Dallas, and Washington, D.C.

Harold’s radio career continued to grow when he was named Operations Manager for the Southland’s top rated Hispanic stations, K-LOVE, La Nueva, Recuerdo and 1020AM. In 2004, after having made his mark in the radio biz and winning numerous prestigious industry awards, including Billboard’s Program Director and Music Director of the Year, Harold decided it was time to take a sabbatical. “I wanted to travel, relax, and just enjoy life for awhile,” he says. “But then the opportunity with Broadcast Architecture came along and I was so excited about the chance to work for BA that I quickly abandoned my life of leisure, and got right back to work.”

At BA, Harold works closely with all of the company’s Hispanic clients, including stations in Spain; Mexico; Peru; New York, Miami and Texas. “I really enjoy traveling and dealing with the cultural diversity of our clients and listeners,” says Harold. “The research we provide for these stations is such an important tool for them to attain their goals.  They know they have to rely on experts when it comes to understanding the complexities of their market and I feel all of us at BA have tremendous insight in dealing with them.  Having been a BA client myself I’ve seen both sides of the equation and I fully appreciate what sound research brings to the table.” 

Harold lives in Los Angeles, where he’s always on the lookout for fish – sushi that is. “I’m always on the search for the best sushi bars in LA,” Harold says with a laugh. “To be honest, I’m on that search everywhere in the world!”