Martin Ball

Martin was a founding figure at Wave 105, the leading regional commercial radio station for the South of England. Over his 22-year tenure, he held the role of Managing Director, steering the station to £7m revenue and 550,000 listeners. Under his stewardship, Wave 105 became the most listened-to commercial radio station on the South Coast.

He was also instrumental in community engagement and on-air strategy, helping to maintain Wave 105’s distinct position within the UK’s competitive commercial radio landscape. In recognition of his outstanding contributions, Martin received the Gold Award for Outstanding Achievement at the Bauer Media Awards. Wave was regularly recognised at a national level and won many awards over the years. 

Following Wave 105’s integration into Bauer Media Group, Martin was appointed Commercial Managing Director for the Hits Radio Brand Network. In this national role, he oversaw commercial strategy, sales performance, and market integration for Bauer’s local radio stations across the UK.

He was responsible for leading regional sales teams, aligning revenue goals across platforms, and delivering scalable commercial frameworks within Bauer’s expansive portfolio. His strategic oversight contributed to the continued strength of the group during a period of brand consolidation and digital evolution.

Martin later joined Nation Broadcasting as a Commercial Strategy Consultant, working alongside the executive team to shape a future-facing sales and brand development approach. This appointment came at a pivotal time for Nation, whose listenership had just surpassed 1 million weekly listeners across its portfolio.

Martin is widely respected for his pragmatic commercial vision, deep operational insight, and ability to build resilient, high-performing teams who give back.

Wave 105 was also known for its charitable support via Cash for Kids, a major UK charity that Martin was also a trustee of.

As Chief Commercial Officer at TCW, Martin now applies his vast commercial and leadership experience to scaling TCW’s brand, partnerships, client impact, and growth.