This book began as a simple personal remembrance for my immediate family and friends, but with the encouragement of longtime friends and colleagues, I soon found myself writing an insider’s tale of NBC transitioning from pioneer broadcaster to global media conglomerate. And then, as our family lives were rapidly consumed by a crusade to unlock the causes and cure for autism, the development of Autism Speaks became undeniably part of my story.
But I should probably start at the beginning.
I was born Robert Charles Wright on April 23, 1943, in Hempstead, Long Island, New York.
After completing my education at Chaminade High School in Mineola, Long Island, and Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, I graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law. I went on to pass the bar exams in Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. I had been with General Electric for 18 months when I left for Newark to become law secretary for Chief Justice Lawrence Whipple of the federal district court of New Jersey. I then spent 3 years in private practice before returning to GE and my 40-year career there.
I eagerly moved from law into business management during my first high-level appointments at GE Plastics (its fastest growing unit then) before becoming president and CEO of Cox Cable Communications in Atlanta. I returned to GE in 1983 as head of audio electronics and housewares and eventually became president and CEO of GE Capital in Stamford, Connecticut. All this happened before 1986, when I plunged into 2 decades as CEO of NBC and NBC Universal.
In 2007 I retired as chairman and CEO of NBC Universal and as GE vice chairman in 2008. My wife and soul mate for almost 50 years, Suzanne Wright, worked with me to cofound Autism Speaks, a global nonprofit advocacy and research group, in 2005. It was a year after our oldest grandchild, Christian, was diagnosed at age 2. I leveraged my skills, contacts, and personal wealth to improve the quality of life for autistic children and their families.
There are some striking and instructive parallels between my two overarching passions—transforming NBC into a global powerhouse and developing Autism Speaks into a proactive nonprofit with a business model. I have been described as a low-key contrarian risk-taker and that has been a benefit to them both. I was the anti-mogul at NBC with a GE pedigree and an entrepreneur with a law degree. Applying the same business acumen and passion to further awareness, advocacy, and answers at Autism Speaks has created a progressive philanthropic template that is not without critics.
This book was intentionally organized into my two worlds: business and autism. Although at many moments they collided in my life, they also shaped and embellished their unique journeys. Writing this book afforded me a unique perspective on events of the past 40 years in a way that could benefit others.
Throughout my life, I have followed a few fundamental principles that I believe are essential for success in any endeavor. With those principles as filter and the voices of people I worked with for added dimension, I offer my personal story of leadership as both example and inspiration. My hope is that readers of all ages and persuasions—whether or not they have experience in business or autism—take what they can from my challenges and the lessons they impart to make the world a better place. There is much to do, many new stories to write and so much we can accomplish working together.