33 Facts About Bob Wright

Robert Charles Wright was born on April 23,1943 and is an American lawyer, businessman, lobbyist, and author.

Bob Wright is a former NBC executive, having served as president and CEO from 1986 to 2001, and chairman and CEO from 2001 until he retired in 2007.

Bob Wright has been credited with overseeing the broadcast network's expansion into a media conglomerate and leading the company to record earnings in the 1990s.

Bob Wright served as President and CEO of GE Capital, GE Financial Services 1983 to 1986 and served as GE's vice chairman until he retired from that role in 2008.

In 2016, after his wife's death from pancreatic cancer, Bob Wright established the Suzanne Bob Wright Foundation, which funds research for pancreatic cancer.

Bob Wright originally studied pre-med, but later changed his studies to major in psychology and minor in history.

Bob Wright graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965.

Bob Wright began his career with General Electric as a staff lawyer in 1969.

Bob Wright joined GE again in 1973 as a lawyer for the company's plastics unit, where he later took on several management positions.

The deal did not come to fruition, however Bob Wright remained with Cox Cable as president until 1983.

Bob Wright left Cox to join GE in 1983, when GE chairman and CEO Jack Welch hired him to lead the company's housewares and audio units.

Bob Wright was promoted to president of GE Financial Services from 1984 to 1986.

Bob Wright was named chairman and CEO of NBC Universal in 2004.

Bob Wright is credited with leading NBC during a time when the company became a powerful media leader, driving the company to record earnings in the 1990s.

Also under Bob Wright, NBC acquired Universal Pictures, Telemundo and Bravo.

Under Bob Wright, NBC completed its acquisition of Vivendi Universal Entertainment in 2004.

In that role, Bob Wright spoke at the Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy in Geneva, Switzerland, pushing for lawmakers and businesses to curb rising intellectual property theft in the digital age, and delivered a speech titled "Technology and the Rule of Law in the Digital Age" at the Media Institute in 2004.

Bob Wright penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal titled "Stop IP theft".

Bob Wright remained vice chairman of GE until his retirement from that role in 2008.

The couple launched Autism Speaks in 2005, and Bob Wright became its chairman.

Bob Wright resigned as chairman of Autism Speaks in May 2015; as of February 2016, he remained on the board as a co-founder of the organization and on its executive committee.

Bob Wright is Founder and Chairman of the Suzanne Wright Foundation, established in honor of his late wife, Suzanne, who died from pancreatic cancer on July 29,2016.

The Suzanne Bob Wright Foundation launched CodePurple, a national awareness and advocacy campaign to fight pancreatic cancer.

The Suzanne Bob Wright Foundation proposed a national health policy initiative to establish HARPA, the Health Advanced Research Projects Agency.

On May 22,2018, The Suzanne Bob Wright Foundation premiered their film The Patients Are Waiting: How HARPA Will Change Lives, in New York City.

Lee Equity Partners, a private equity firm run by financier Thomas H Lee, announced in January 2008 that Wright would join the company as a senior advisor.

Bob Wright is chairman and CEO of Palm Beach Civic Association.

Bob Wright is a life trustee of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Bob Wright has accepted various awards and honors during his career in media.

Bob Wright was awarded the Minorities in Broadcasting Training Program's "Striving for Excellence Award".

Bob Wright was married to his wife Suzanne from 1967 until her death from pancreatic cancer in 2016.

Bob Wright has three children, Katie, Chris, and Maggie and six grandchildren: Christian, Mattias, Morgan, Maisie, Alex, and Sloan.

Bob Wright married his second wife, Susan Goldwater Keenan, on Sept 30,2017.