Dead Air

Marrazzo grew up in Brooklyn and demonstrated an early interest in math and science. Though today his bookshelf at 'HYY is filled mostly with management-related tomes and a series of Who's Who guides, his home library is very different, containing mainly biographies of famous women. "I've always admired people who succeed against some odds," he explains one afternoon, while sitting in his office. "That whole idea of women breaking through the glass ceiling has always appealed to me."

Marrazzo's wife, Randi, is an opera singer; they have two children. Among friends, he has a reputation for both warmth and meticulousness. Tasty Baking CEO Charlie Pizzi, a former 'HYY board member and Friend of Bill from their days together in city government, says Marrazzo decorates his Christmas tree by arranging one strand. Of silver tinsel. At a time.

This type A image of Marrazzo is buttressed by his professional biography: He became Philadelphia water commissioner at age 30 and rose all the way to managing director in the Green administration. After 17 years in city government, he joined the private sector, where he became CEO of Roy F. Weston, Inc., an environmental consulting firm. He resigned in 1997 after the company's 86-year-old founder and namesake unretired to take the helm.

Throughout his career, Marrazzo has used his manifest drive to make connections with others climbing toward the top. Last fall, a group called Leadership Philadelphia selected Marrazzo, from among 4,300 nominees, as one of “The Area’s 101 Connectors.” BusinessWeek’s online company profile of WHYY lists Marrazzo with connections to 180 board members at various companies. Former governor and current Chamber of Commerce president Mark Schweiker trails him with 156.

Marrazzo’s pleasure in the company of others is visible: He has a habit, when listening to someone speak, of leaning forward and staring with intensity, like a dog looking at a bag from which he expects a treat to be produced. He has the polish of a lifelong politician, though his habit of offering compliments and pulling people into conversation with a Jedi Knight’s unseen force seems less about manipulation than a statement of being. “My self-assessment,” he says, “borne out by years of objective executive assessment, has taught me that I am most effective when I am interacting with other people.”   


IT WAS A SURPRISE when Marrazzo emerged months after departing Weston to lead WHYY — despite no previous broadcast experience. “We were looking for a CEO,” says Pizzi, who was on the search committee. “I wasn’t thinking of it for him. But when I mentioned the search, he expressed interest.” In this innocent conversation, the pair embraced a time-honored Philadelphia tradition: Know someone, be someone.

Board members say Marrazzo was hired after wowing them with a presentation promising a financial turnaround, an embrace of digital technology, and a commitment to making that hardware accessible to the public. Ten years into his reign, Marrazzo has got the company out of the red, turning in million-dollar-plus budget surpluses two years running, with a third year expected when the company’s next financial statement goes public this fall. ’HYY has also invested roughly $10 million in digital technology, tripled its number of major donors, and developed three strands of programming — Channel 12, Wider Horizons for the older set, and the Y Arts Channel — available on Comcast.