Eric Toppenberg has changed his name many times to make it in the radio business. At 16, he briefly changed his name to “Chuck the Duck” for a gig as a radio station mascot in his hometown of Oklahoma City. Then it was “Cody the Coyote” when he got poached by a rival radio station. He changed it to a more radio-friendly Eric Logan when he got an on-air job and has kept that surname ever since — despite the fact he’s no longer on the air.
“I was a horrible, horrible disc jockey,” said Logan, who adopted the last name of his uncle — a radio newscaster.
Today, the 35-year-old is the executive vice president for programming for XM Satellite Radio. He oversees content for XM’s 172 channels, helping secure a diverse crowd of high-profile talent for the network, including Bob Dylan, Ludacris and James Carville.
On Monday, XM launches the “Oprah and Friends” channel, which Logan said is one of the biggest successes for XM and one of his proudest professional accomplishments.
“Clearly there’s not many people in the world that have the stature of Oprah Winfrey,” Logan said. “She could do anything in the world, and she chose XM radio.”
It was a winding path that took Logan from Chuck the Duck to Oprah Winfrey. During his mascot days, he took a job at a radio station that turned out to be a training ground for his career. He stayed at the Oklahoma station for five years and had the chance to do “everything” from sales to disc jockeying.
From there, he criss-crossed his way across the country with programming jobs in Seattle, San Francisco, Tampa, Fla., and New York City. Most recently, Logan was the head of programming for Citadel Broadcasting in New York, where he oversaw radio stations in major markets across the country.
He was tapped to run XM’s programming in 2004 and moved to Washington. And, despite the fact he’s not working in politics, he promptly fell in love with what makes this city tick.
“I had never set foot in the city,” he said. “But I fell in love with it. When you live in New York, you feel the money and status. When you walk through D.C., you feel the power.”
Chuck the Duck would be proud.
Eric Logan
» Current job: Executive vice president of programming, XM Satellite Radio
» Last job: President of programming, Citadel Broadcasting
» Number of e-mails a day: 250
» Number of voice mails a day: 30
» Best perk: Numbered parking space
» Gadgets: Pioneer XM2go Inno
» First job: The radio mascot “Chuck the Duck” for KXXY-FM in Oklahoma City, Okla.
» Original aspiration: Astronaut
PERSONAL
» Birthday: Jan. 7, 1971
» Hometown: Oklahoma City
» Sports/hobbies: Golf, reading to my daughter
» Transportation: Chevy SSR
» Favorite restaurant: Hard Times Cafe
» Computer: HP
» Favorite clothier: Charles Tyrwhitt
» Vacation spot: Reynolds Plantation, Ga.
