John ‘Dubby’ Wynne dies at 78

John O. “Dubby” Wynne only had one setting: giving 110%.

He didn’t know how to do any less than that, even after years as a successful media executive who helped launch The Weather Channel, the 24-hour cable weather news channel. Instead of slowing down after his retirement as president and CEO after 27 years working for Landmark Communications, he continued to make waves in Hampton Roads and the commonwealth, co-founding statewide economic development initiative GO Virginia.

Wynne died Wednesday at 78 following an illness. His survivors include his wife of 50 years, Susan, as well as two children and six grandchildren.

Frank Batten Jr., whose family owned Landmark Communications, credits Wynne with The Weather Channel’s success. Landmark, which had interests in newspapers such as The Virginian-Pilot and The Roanoke Times, and broadcasting, cable programming and digital publishing. Wynne joined Landmark in 1974 and served on its board for years after his 2001 retirement. In an interview with the Syndeo Institute at the Cable Center, he talked about the ways Frank Batten Sr., his late mentor, built the media corporation by finding new opportunities each decade, including as an early cable television pioneer and investing in community newspapers, The Weather Channel and digital publishing. 

“The biggest thing is that [Wynne] was the true founder of The Weather Channel,” said Frank Batten Jr., chairman of Dominion Enterprises and president of the Landmark Foundation. “Dubby Wynne was the person who really made it happen. The Weather Channel would not have been successful without his ideas and drive and determination and conviction that it would be successful.” 

The Weather Channel was started by Landmark Communications in 1982, and Wynne led the sale of it to NBC Universal for $3.5 billion in 2008. Wynne received the NCTA Vanguard Award for Programmers and the Governor’s Award from the National Academy of Cable Programming in 1997 for “his leadership and insight in making The Weather Channel the preeminent provider of weather information, and one of the most innovative and popular networks on television.” He was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame in 2016.

“When we launched our service, most people were just laughing at [the 24-hour weather concept],” Wynne said in an interview for his Cable Hall of Fame induction. “Although in some areas like New York City, people already carried an umbrella all the time. In California, they said, ‘I don’t care, it never rains here.’ But we knew from our television and radio experience that weather in most communities was a subject of high interest.”

When Wynne and Landmark executives became aware that the ad-supported broadcasting wasn’t sufficient to support The Weather Channel, he pivoted to charging fees to cable operators to put the channel in the black. “We needed subscriber fees. We showed our finances to the cable operators. It was just a few pennies per subscriber, but getting that done was what made The Weather Channel successful,” he said.

After his retirement, Wynne stayed involved in the business community as a civic leader. In 2006, the National Governor’s Association gave him the First Citizen Award for Distinguished Service to State Government for his role in establishing the Council on Virginia’s Future, an organization that was focused on strategic planning and performance leadership in state government. Later, the CIVIC Leadership Institute in Norfolk presented Wynne its Darden Award for Regional Leadership in 2014.

“He was a visionary, he was an implementer and he could motivate elected officials with his passion for Virginia,” said Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. “His vision for cities and counties working along economic boundaries became a passion for his community involvement, and many organizations benefited from his leadership.”

Along with co-founding GO Virginia, a state economic development initiative started in 2014 by business leaders and state officials, he chaired multiple boards promoting regional cooperation, such as Reinvent Hampton Roads and the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. He also served on boards for organizations such as Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, Junior Achievement of Tidewater, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the United Way of South Hampton Roads and many others. He was also a founding member of Reinvent Hampton Roads, which was launched in 2016 by the Hampton Roads Community Foundation to administer GO Virginia grants for local economic development projects.

DuVal said Wynne was the “driving force behind Virginia building regional economic strategies with private sector leadership.”

Calling Wynne a friend and mentor of the past 10 years, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement that “Dubby Wynne has left a forever mark on the commonwealth. He dedicated his immense experience and his life to improving economic opportunity and prosperity across Virginia. His heart for philanthropy and his giving spirit truly made a difference in people’s lives.”

And, for Hampton Roads, “Dubby Wynne was a giant in our region,” Bryan K. Stephens, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Chamber, said in a statement. “He was a man of action, a true impact player who knew how to get things done.  His contributions to the citizens and economy of Hampton Roads are too many to enumerate [in a statement]. Suffice to say ‘Dubby’ will always be synonymous with regional collaboration. His leadership in this region will be sorely missed.”

Nancy Grden, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, said Wynne “had a personal passion for the region and felt the region had so many assets and opportunities it needed to leverage.”

Batten said what made Wynne a great leader was that he was demanding, but people knew he was motivated by working for the betterment of others. 

“Dubby was a visionary leader and passionate advocate for the people and businesses in the Hampton Roads area,” Sentara Health President and CEO Dennis Matheis, co-chair of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, said in a statement. “As a founding member of GO Virginia and Reinvent Hampton Roads, Dubby paved the way for business leaders to come together to think creatively about unlocking the power of the region and all of its collective resources.”

Wynne earned his bachelor’s degree in 1967 from Princeton University, where he later served as a charter trustee for 14 years and as a member of the executive committee of Princeton’s board of trustees. He earned his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1971 and later served on U.Va.’s board for eight years, including a term as rector. After law school, he was an attorney for Willcox & Savage before he went to work for Landmark in 1974, where he served as the company’s general counsel and was general manager of KNTV in San Jose, California. By 1980, he was head of the company’s broadcasting and video division and was responsible for new business development. He eventually worked his way up to president and CEO. Landmark Communications later spun off Landmark Media Enterprises, which formerly owned The Virginian-Pilot and The Roanoke Times newspapers.

Wynne was often consulted as a regional leader. 

“He could work at a strategic level and a very personal level to encourage all of us to lean into it,” Grden said, adding that Wynne supported young talent and cultivating a new generation of leaders in Hampton Roads. “It’s hard to replicate someone who can do that, someone who has vision but knows it takes people at the ground level to make this stuff happen. He was very interested in incorporating more innovation in our region.”

Wynne’s work, Matheis said, “ultimately led to the creation of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, passing the baton to the next generation of business leaders in the community. Our regional growth can be directly connected to his work, and it is up to all of us to continue his legacy.”

Wynne was incoming board chairman for the Hampton Roads Community Foundation in 2012, when Debbie DiCroce became the foundation’s president and CEO. “He’s that rare visionary leader who understood the importance of strategic execution,” she said. “There’s not much that matters that he hasn’t touched in some fashion or another in advancing the vision of the thriving community with opportunity for everyone.” 

Hampton Roads — and by extension, the commonwealth — is stronger region because of his leadership, she said.

“Of course, the challenge for all of us is to pick up the baton and carry on.”

Virginia Business Editor Richard Foster contributed to this story.