Valari Dobson Staab

Valari Dobson Staab is President of NBC Owned Television Stations, the division of NBCUniversal that includes 10 local television stations and their websites and digital platforms, as well as a group of out-of-home properties, a production company, an in-house marketing and promotions company and COZI TV (www.cozitv.com).

Under Staab’s leadership, the NBC Owned Stations have benefited from a significant investment of resources to strengthen their news gathering capabilities, including hiring additional people primarily in the news departments, adding new vehicles and helicopters in some markets and upgrading equipment.  She has also overseen the expansion or addition of investigative and consumer units in all 10 markets, the launch of hundreds of hours of new local newscasts and the building of new sets or studios at several stations.

Staab has worked in local television for more than 30 years, primarily at the ABC Owned Television Stations, serving in a variety of roles in general management, research and creative services.  Before assuming her current role in June 2011, she was President and General Manager of KGO, the market leading station in San Francisco, for eight years.  Under Staab’s tenure, KGO increased the amount of locally produced programming by more than 50 percent and expanded its digital efforts to reach new viewers, including streaming newscasts, launching an iPad app and increasing its social media outreach.  During her tenure, KGO received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Northern California Emmy for Station Excellence and The Radio and Television News Directors Association’s Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence.

Prior to leading KGO, Staab served as President and General Manager of WTVD in Raleigh-Durham for a year and at KFSN in Fresno for nearly four years.  She worked at WPVI in Philadelphia for a decade, where she held the roles of Director of Creative Services and Director of Marketing and Research.  Previously, she worked in marketing and research for KPRC in Houston and KLTV in Tyler, Texas, where she started her broadcast career as a college student.

Throughout her professional life, Staab has been active in her community.  She currently serves on the Board of the NBCUniversal Foundation and has been a longtime supporter of the United Way.

A native of Texas, Staab earned a BA from the University of Texas at Tyler and a MBA from Baylor University.  She resides in New York City with her husband, R.C.