From Awareness to Action

An Interview with Bob Wright, Co-Founder,

EDITORS’ NOTE Bob Wright serves on the board I would like to see more corporate sup- have bills in their legislatures. We’re now work- of directors of the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, port from banks and fi nancial institutions. We ing to get the federal government to jump on it Mission Product, LLC, EMI Group Global Ltd., and have more than 80 walks in the U.S. with more because they’re the largest employer in the U.S. AMC Networks Inc., and is a Trustee of the New than 400,000 participants. That opens the op- We have a bill in Congress that would allow York-Presbyterian Hospital. He is also Chairman portunity for exposure in 80 major metropolitan the kids of retired military personnel to get full and CEO of the Palm Beach Civic Association and markets in the U.S. benefi ts for autism; we’re also trying hard to pass Senior Advisor of THL Capital. Wright served as We have to have a partnership with the the ABLE Act, which would enable families to Vice Chairman, , and President, communities, but also with the media in those save tax-free to provide care for a loved one with CEO, and Chairman of NBC and NBC Universal communities in order to generate awareness. a disability. Our family services team has created from 1986 to 2007. Wright had one of the longest We need to have a partnership with the political valuable tool kits for parents, grandparents, and and most successful tenures of any media com- forces in the community, because eventually, we siblings. Our online autism video glossary shows pany chief executive, with more than two decades will need resources or want to integrate some of how various treatments are supposed to be done at the helm of one of the world’s leading media our activities with government-sponsored events. and what the results are supposed to be so par- and entertainment companies. After creating Autism Speaks, have ents have something to compare against. In 2005, Wright and his wife Suzanne co- things developed as you had hoped they Our Light It Up Blue campaign is lighting founded Autism Speaks, the leading autism sci- would? up buildings around the world every year on ence and advocacy organization dedicated Our initial focus was to create awareness of April 2nd to celebrate World Autism Awareness to funding research and raising public aware- what autism is and its prevalence, and we’ve ac- Day, which is now officially sanctioned by ness of autism. In recognition of their outstand- complished that. We have received $316 million the UN. ing achievements in this area, Suzanne and Bob worth of free media coverage through our Ad Around the world, we have more global Wright received the fi rst-ever Double Helix Award Council partnership, and our new campaign is impact than when we started. When you’re out- for Corporate Leadership from Cold Spring Harbor switching from awareness of autism to focusing side the U.S., the World Health Organization is Laboratory and in May 2008, they were honored on diagnosis and treatment; we’re sure that we the total guide to medicine. They are supported in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Infl uential People can measure that impact over time. The aware- by the UN and they recognize autism and are in the World issue for their work with Autism ness has enabled us to raise money to fund re- very helpful. They’re looking for low-cost ways Speaks. In the past couple of years, the Wrights search, advocate for our community, and provide to provide diagnoses and intervention in coun- have received honorary doctorate degrees from resources and tools for the families we serve. tries that don’t have the resources. St. John’s University, St. Joseph’s University, and In addition, we have raised more than $300 Will there come a time when you will UMass Medical School. Wright is a graduate of million on a gross basis since 2005. We try to feel you’ve done what you needed to do? the College of Holy Cross and the University of measure our success in terms of leverage – for Maybe for me, but not for autism because Virginia School of Law. He and Suzanne have every dollar we raise, we try to get $9 worth of it’s so far behind as a condition that needs to be three children and seven grandchildren. metrically managed money out of it – so about addressed. The total cost of it is astronomical in $2.6 billion is the impact we’ve had from the terms of the weight on society and the unreal- ORGANIZATION BRIEF Autism Speaks $300 million we’ve raised. ized potential and loss of productivity of many (www.autismspeaks.org), founded in 2005 by On the science side, we’ve been able to fund people who have autism. This is a national pub- Suzanne and Bob Wright, is the world’s leading $173 million in scientifi c and medical research; lic health crisis. We have to fully understand the autism science and advocacy organization ded- we just funded $13 million of grants. We’re in- cause and develop the treatments, medicines, icated to funding research into the causes, pre- creasingly focusing on translational research, tak- and therapies to reduce or eliminate the aspects vention, and treatments for autism; increasing ing it from the lab bench to the bedside. it presents. That is coming, but we only started awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and We have the Autism Treatment Network, a few years ago. advocating for the needs of individuals with au- with 17 medical centers around the U.S. that We would like to see the age of diagnosis tism and their families. serve 22,000 families annually who have autism. drop dramatically. We now know that it’s pos- We’re working to get them to agree on pro- sible to screen for autism at one year of age Was it diffi cult getting the corporate market tocols so we can effectively translate those 17 and interventions can begin immediately. onboard to support Autism Speaks? institutions into hundreds by having them do Treatments can reduce the impact of autism in Toys“R”Us is our largest sponsor and their the same things. younger children and get them into a school employees and customers are the ones that cre- We now have a large social media network grade at their age level with help. The average ate the positive connection. T.J.Maxx has part- of a million followers. Last year, we played a key age of diagnosis is still close to fi ve years old, nered with us for eight years and White Castle role in securing the three-year extension of the which is unacceptable. has come on signifi cantly in the past couple of Combating Autism Act, accounting for almost We’ve made tremendous progress, but years, also due to positive feedback they get from $700 million in new federal autism funding. there is a long road ahead.• their customers and employees. Dollar General Twenty-nine states have passed insurance is another wonderful partner. But it’s not easy to reform bills because previously, there was no in- Bob and Suzanne Wright mark World Autism Awareness Day at get these corporate associations off the ground. surance coverage for autism therapies; another 10 the Empire State Building in April 2010. 52 LEADERS POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2012 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2