Corporate Leaders In Education:
Bob Wright: CEO & Chairman,
NBC Universal
By Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
It’s no accident that NBC Universal chairman and CEO
Bob Wright has reached the top of his field. His media empire
includes NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, and Bravo, as well as
stakes in the History Channel and the A&E network, among
many others. He’s received the Golden Mike Award, and
is a board member of New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Talent and opportunity certainly contributed to his success,
but so too has his extraordinary sense of discipline, work
ethic and relentless focus on achievement. Such qualities,
he admitted in a recent telephone interview, were inculcated
during his formative years on his native Long Island, where
the young Wright was educated at an all-boys parochial high
school, Chaminade, that catered to the sons of policemen, firemen
and civil servants.
“It was a bare bones school that produced a lot of high
achievers; they rapped your knuckles with a yardstick,” Wright
recalled. “It was a very strict, achievement-oriented
environment that focused on discipline. The school’s
mission to educate middle-class children is a marvelous target.
It almost guarantees success. The parents are really interested
in their children’s education. You receive a positive
view of yourself, and do end up being really productive.”
Such lessons were further reinforced when Wright went on to
the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where he earned
his undergraduate degree, and at the University of Virginia
Law School where he received his law degree.
As he steadily rose
on the corporate ladder, moving from the legal field to business,
Wright said he never “ had official
mentors.” Instead, he chose to “work for people
whom I’ve considered as mentors,” among them General
Electric chairman, Jack Welch. As Wright said, “I picked
my jobs carefully.”
Used to challenges, and clearly someone who relishes the kinds
of opportunities they provide, Wright is ready to tackle the
rapidly changing media environment in which he now works.
“Personal communications, and broad personal communications,
are inevitably on the increase,” Wright admitted. “There’s
the Internet, and pod-casting, which gives people the ability
to publish their own opinions and make them available to a
large audience. That’s rapidly gaining attention for
the foreseeable future and we’ll see more of it.” Wright
recently posted his own blog on a trip to visit his reporters
in Louisiana.
So even though Wright
represents a more traditional and conventional media company,
he finds it “exciting” to be in
the thick of this new landscape. “The challenge to news
organizations that have more traditional and formal ways of
presenting opinions is providing information and opinions in
new ways,” he said. “Younger people, more than
older people, are more used to hearing opinion, not straight
facts, and they don’t have a problem with that. And older
people are increasingly comfortable with opinions. It’s
a growing phenomenon. There’ll be people who’ll
willingly try to get other opinions, at one end or the other
end of the spectrum.”
Although his work as
head of a major broadcasting company is truly a 24/7 commitment,
Wright nevertheless has embraced volunteer roles that are
deeply significant to him and his family. As a trustee of
his alma mater, Holy Cross, Wright understands that his mission
is to assist the small, private liberal arts college in its
fund-raising needs. “I’m
there to raise funds, and contribute funds,” Wright acknowledged. “My
expertise lends benefits to the board, at helping with fund-raising
efforts and contributing to the business agenda. We want to
create a sufficient endowment to match more prestigious schools.”
Recently, Wright and
his wife, who live in Connecticut and have three grown children,
learned that one of their grandchildren was autistic. In
February of this year, they launched a foundation to promote
awareness of the autism epidemic and to raise funds to support
autism research. Autism Speaks is working with the Ad Council
to create a national campaign to promote awareness of the
early signs of autism and to encourage early detection and
intervention. Autism Speaks is also a leading advocate for
the Combating Autism Act, currently pending before Congress. “This
law would more than double Federal funding for autism research
and would increase resources in every state for the early diagnosis
and treatment of children with autism,” said Wright. “This
is perhaps the most important thing to happen short of a cure.” Autism
Speaks also has a comprehensive website for families struggling
with autism at www.austismspeaks.org.#
