Robby Thomas has been named general manager of Gray owned Columbia, S.C., NBC station WIS. Gray has also named Valerie Russell as Thomas’ replacement as gm at CBS and NBC affiliate WTVY-WRGX in Dothan, Ala.
Thomas spent the past three years leading WTVY-WRGX, while Russell was the general sales manager at the station.
Thomas began his career as a broadcast journalist before launching South Georgia’s first fiber MVPD and later returning to local broadcast media. Before joining WTVY, Thomas was director of marketing and audience development at Gray’s WBTV in Charlotte, where he created and chaired the first Gray Marketing and Creative Services Advisory Council.
Before joining WTVY, Russell was a leading member of the sales team at WIS in Columbia, S.C. She began her broadcasting career as a morning show producer in 1996 at the Columbia market’s ABC affiliated television station.