Steve Wexler created a make-believe radio station (“WEXL Radio”) in his bedroom when he was a kid and rode his bike to WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee when he was 17 years old and asked if he could be on the actual radio. That began a broadcast career that has taken him from the control room to the board room and included on-air work at WTMJ and WISN in Milwaukee before beginning his management journey, building talk stations in Milwaukee for Hearst (WISN-AM) and in Portland, OR for King Broadcasting (KGW-AM). He later programmed KING-AM, Seattle and returned home to WTMJ as program director in 1993 for Journal Communications. Journal promoted Steve to market manager positions in Tucson, AZ and Omaha, NE where he began overseeing TV and Radio operations, including KMTV-TV in Omaha and WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee as executive vice president.
In 2012, he was named division head of the 36-station, 8-market Journal Radio Group, a position he continued through Journal’s merger with E.W. Scripps. In 2018, he led the sale of the radio group to four separate broadcast companies, including Good Karma Brands in Milwaukee, where remained as vice president and market manager until late 2022, when he launched his own leadership and content consultancy, WEXL Coaching & Development, specializing in content, coaching and culture. Good Karma Brands is WEXL Coaching’s inaugural client, where he is providing coaching, workshops and management and sales training for GKB across the country as their Leadership Coach.
A 2022 Marconi Award Finalist for Legendary Manager of the Year, Steve has served on the board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters, the Radio Advertising Bureau and is a past Chair of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.
Steve and his wife Amy live in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and have two children and two grandchildren.
