Craig Robinson, President and General Manager of KNBC, the NBC owned television station in Los Angeles, has been named EVP, Chief Diversity Officer for the company, reporting directly to NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke. He takes over the role from Paula Madison, who retired from NBCUniversal in May. Robinson begins his new role on August 15 and will continue to serve as KNBC’s General Manager until a replacement is named.
As Chief Diversity Officer, Robinson will help define, enable and foster a corporate culture that values diversity of talent, ideas, values and backgrounds across all parts of the company. He will act as the main liaison between NBCUniversal and key national and local figures and will oversee the company’s diversity commitments, working closely with senior executives to promote these efforts throughout the organization. Robinson will also be instrumental in guiding the company’s multiple internal affinity groups, and he will serve as a member of Comcast and NBCUniversal’s Joint Diversity Council.
In his previous role as KNBC’s General Manager, Robinson oversaw all aspects of the television station including news, sales and community relations. He was promoted to that position in 2008 after serving as the station’s EVP of Operations and Digital strategy for one year. Prior to that, Robinson was the President and General Manager of WCMH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, for five years. Previous roles include serving as the Vice President of Sales for WRC, NBC’s owned television station in Washington, DC, and local/national sales manager of KCBS-TV in Los Angeles.
Robinson is active in the Asian Pacific Americans @NBCUniversal, Black Professional Alliance and Out @NBCU employee groups. He has also been a longtime supporter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). In addition, he has served as a Campaign Cabinet Member for the United Way of Greater Los Angeles since 2010.
Robinson’s interest in public service was sparked at an early age by his parents. His mother retired after a long career working for the County of Los Angeles and his father was an investigator for the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC). He was raised in the Echo Park District of Los Angeles, and graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science.