Rick Gillette is the new program director at Top 40 station WXRK/ 92.3 NOW.

The appointment, effective immediately, was announced yesterday by Don Bouloukos, SVP/Market Manager for CBS Radio, New York.

Gillette makes his New York debut after successful stints at CBS owned and operated stations in Phoenix where he served as program director since August 2010. He was responsible for KZON’s rise to number 1 in cume, according to the most recent Arbitron ratings. Gillette was instrumental in growing KOOL to one of the top performers in the market.

“What a great city and awesome opportunity,” Gillette says. “I am thrilled for the chance to work with the entire team at 92.3 NOW, striving for greatness and focusing on creating unique and memorable lifestyle experiences for the people of New York.”

Prior to joining CBS, Gillette held various programming positions at KSFM in Sacramento, WHYT and WKQI in Detroit and WKSC in Chicago.

As we reported last month, Dom Theodore stepped down as NOW FM program director and VP of Top 40 programming.

“We are excited to have someone of Rick’s talent join 92.3 NOW,” said Bouloukos.  “He’s been very successful in Phoenix and is quite familiar with creating powerful Top 40 stations that resonate with the audience.  He’s been a dedicated CBS Radio employee and this promotion speaks to his value among our programming ranks.”