Vice President and General Manager of WLUK-TV and WCWF-TV in Green Bay, Jay Zollar, will retire on Dec. 31, concluding what Sinclair called, “a distinguished career serving the Green Bay–Appleton community and guiding through decades of market-defining growth and innovation.”
With Zollar’s retirement, Todd Ziegler will continue in his current role as Station Manager and assume responsibility for the stations’ day-to-day operations, ensuring continuity across news, sales, marketing, and community initiatives.
“Jay’s impact on these stations is immeasurable—his stewardship helped establish WLUK and WCWF as trusted, market-leading brands. We are deeply grateful for his decades of service and confident that Todd, with his strong operational expertise and collaborative leadership style, will continue building on that foundation,” said Rob Weisbord, Chief Operating Officer and President of Local Media at Sinclair.
A Green Bay native, Zollar began his television career as an intern at WFRV-TV while attending the University of Minnesota, where he earned a BA in Speech Communications. He later worked in commercial production and sales at WFRV-TV before moving to WISN-TV in Milwaukee. His successful tenure there led to a general sales manager role at WXGZ-TV (now WACY-TV) in Green Bay, just in time for the launch of the FOX network. Zollar went on to serve as Sales Manager at WLUK-TV, then as Station Manager at WGBA-TV, before ultimately returning to WLUK-TV and WCWF-TV, where he spent the last 26 years leading the stations.
“It has been an incredible journey for me over the past 27 years,” Zollar said. “I am so thankful for those who have gone before me and have been with me now, who have worked so hard to make WLUK the community connection that it is. Since I began here, the vision was and still is to be the overall favorite station to the people of northeast Wisconsin, and I believe that we have achieved that vision. We are here to serve the public interest, and I hope that my involvement here has helped us do exactly that. I take with me a lot of great memories and have expectations that WLUK and WCWF will continue to serve northeast Wisconsin well.”
Sinclair said that Ziegler, a Hortonville native and graduate of UW–Oshkosh, has “played a central role in driving revenue growth at the stations, strengthening client partnerships, and supporting the stations’ top-rated news and local programming.”
Before joining WLUK-TV, Ziegler spent a decade as Production and Creative Services Director at Sinclair’s Minneapolis station. In addition, he held a sales leadership role at WIWB-TV (now WCWF-TV) and a marketing consultant role at Green Bay’s ABC affiliate. He joined WLUK-TV as General Sales Manager, advanced to Director of Sales, became Station Manager earlier this year, and will now oversee WLUK-TV and WCWF-TV. Ziegler has also spent two decades working as a freelance member of field production crews for FOX and CBS Sports. “Jay’s legacy is all about service and connection, and I’m grateful for the path he’s paved,” Ziegler said. “Our goal now is to build on that foundation and continue enriching local lives right here in northeast Wisconsin.”
