Richard Lui

Richard Lui
Lui in 2012
Born	California,U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	University of MichiganRoss School of Business(M.B.A.) UC Berkeley(B.A.) City College of San Francisco(A.A.)
Occupation	News anchor
Employer(s)	NBCUniversal,Comcast
Notable credit(s)	NBC News CNN Citigroup Oliver Wyman

Richard Luiis an American author, journalist, and filmmaker. HeanchorsforMSNBCandNBC News.Lui is currently a breaking news anchor forNBCand MSNBC, broadcasting from30 Rockefeller PlazainMidtown Manhattan,New York City.prior to that role he was a co-host ofEarly Today,and anchor of MSNBC daytime coverage. He was formerly atCNN Worldwide.At CNN Worldwide he became the firstAsian Americanmale to anchor a daily, national cable news showwhen he solo anchored the 10 a.m. hour onCNN Headline News(2007 to 2010).Mediaiteranked Lui among the top 100 in news buzz on its "Power Grid Influence Index of TV Anchors and Hosts" and one of "The 50 Sexiest in TV News".

Lui is also a columnist, contributing to publications includingUSA Today,Politico,The Seattle Times,Detroit Free Press,andSanFrancisco Chronicle.His public speaking spans six continents and some 200 events in the last several years.TwitterCounter places his following in the top 1%.

Lui's enterprise reporting has focused on humanitarian issues includinggender equality,human trafficking,and affordable housing.His charity work in the same spaces has led him to work with Plan International USA as a global ambassador (alongsideFreida PintoandMarcia Cross) for its Because I am a Girl campaign.He also is ambassador for theEpilepsy Foundationand sits on the president's council for America's largest food source to the poor,Food Bank for New York City.Lui's work and reporting on humanitarian issues spans 30 years and six continents. He has received civil rights awards from organizations including AAJA, WWAAC, and OCA.

Before journalism, Lui spent 15 years in business withFortune 500and tech companies. He is patent holder and co-founder of the first bank-centric payment system, which was seed-funded and incubated byCitibank.Business Insiderrecognized Lui as one of 21 dynamic careers to watch alongsideWarren BuffettandMark Cuban.

Lui has directed two Academy Award qualified films,Sky Blossomin 2020, andUnconditionalin 2023, which was screened at theWhite HousebyFirst Lady Jill Biden.

Business career

Richard Lui at a panel discussion for the showFresh off the Boat

Lui started in business in 1985, working in manufacturing, strategy consulting, food and beverage, environmental, oil, and technology industries. He has held chief roles from operations to marketing.At the start of his career, Lui skipped college and spent four years at startupMrs. Fields Cookies.At the age of 18, Lui became the youngest in the company's history to run a regional training center.

After Mrs. Fields, Lui entered college, followed by work at Clean Environment Equipment (QED), where he led its global advertising and public relations. According to the company's website, its oil recovery products are on almost every major refinery with an underground oil spill.Until 2008, Lui worked forCitibankas Director, COO, and CMO of a business unit focused on payments and commerce.His patented payment infrastructure bypassedMasterCardandVisa,enabling consumers to pay for goods and services by connecting directly to their bank. It included wireless access to checking, brokerage, and other funds. Before Citibank, Lui worked atOliver WymanNew York.His business development work included moving online brokerage businesses to mobile platforms, and the globalization software market. Lui also helped launch a joint venture with IBM in the retail vertical.

Charity and humanitarian work

Richard Lui gives the keynote speech toDelta Air Linesexecutives on subject of the “universal worker” and globalization in May 2009.

Lui started community work in high school as aYMCAcounselor in the 1980s. He taught addicted mothers computer skills at the American Indian Family Healing Center and served as campaign manager for a citywide position that managedCity College of San Francisco.

As an ambassador for Plan International USA, Lui works to identify and advise on ways of talking about the role male adults and children have in gender inequality and femalevictim blaming,as well as help to generate organizational growth strategies. For Plan International USA, he has travelled toCentral America,South America,Asia,andOceaniafor research and to assess global trends.

Lui has collaborated withPolaris Project,a global anti-human trafficking organization. He has reported and consulted on human trafficking stories for a decade, and spoken on domestic and global trends at high schools, universities, and conferences globally.TheU.S. Department of Justiceasked Lui to present his work on trafficking at its annual gathering of attorneys and immigration officers inAtlantain 2012.

Lui has worked with theAspen Institutefor several years, speaking at its annual,C-SPANbroadcast symposium on the "State of Race in America". He also led Aspen Institute conversations at theState Departmenton foreign affairs in U.S. journalism.

Lui is a member of theUS State Department's Speakers Program—he has keynoted in Asia,Europe,and theMiddle East.He is aUN FoundationFellow and hosted programs alongside formerSecretary of StateMadeleine AlbrightandUN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moonfor theUnited NationsAssociation of New York.He has givencommencement speechesatUC BerkeleyandCity College of San Francisco,and spoken at events forHarvard University,Fuqua School of BusinessatDuke University,andRoss School of Businessat theUniversity of Michigan.

In the affordable and homeless housing space, Lui volunteered forHabitat for HumanityinGhana,theGolan Heights,andHaitiwith former PresidentJimmy Carterand formerFirst LadyRosalynn Carter.Lui served on the board of directors for Crossroads Homeless Services and PRI affordable housing development company.

Civil rights

Richard Lui,Jeff Yang,Greg Pak,andErin Quinnat a panel discussion for the showFresh off the Boat

Asian Americans Advancing Justice awarded Lui an American Courage Award for Distinguished Service in 2014, the year after former RepresentativeBarney Frankreceived it.TheAsian American Journalists Associationawarded Lui the Suzanne Ahn Civil Rights and Social Justice Award in 2013, an honor in memory of humanitarian Suzanne Ahn. Civil Rights organization OCA awarded Lui with its Community Service Award in 2012 and 2013.

Politics

Lui's interest in politics started in the 1970s, when he debatedCalifornia's controversialProposition 13during bus rides to school.That interest turned into a job at 19: campaign manager for San Francisco College Board incumbent Alan Wong. After the election, Lui returned to college and planned to write on policy and the affairs of state, subscribing toThe Washington Postwhen it had to be mailed to theWest Coast.

In the 2012 election cycle, Lui hostedAPIAVote's Presidential Debate,APA Presidential Inaugural Ball, and APA Congressional Caucus' forum at the Capitol.He also conducted Asian Pacific American Institute on Congressional Studies (APAICS) training sessions for elected and appointed officials. Lui also contributes political opinion pieces to publications, includingThe Seattle Times,San Francisco Chronicle,Politico,andHuffington Post.

Journalism career

Richard Lui reporting for CNN on human trafficking inGhanain March 2010.

In the 1990s, Lui was exposed to a pivotal time in California politics. As a reporter atKALX,he was assigned toDianne Feinstein's first successful U.S. Senate campaign and theRodney Kingverdict and riots.

Later, in the 2000s, Lui moved to Asia to capture a heated moment in regional politics. He was atChannel NewsAsia,an English language network reaching 24 territories.TwoMuslimcountries inSoutheast Asiawere undertaking key transformations.Indonesia’s Sukarno family was defeated after rule spanning over half a century. AndMalaysia's prime minister, after almost a quarter of a century, handed over power.Lui also covered theSouth Asian tsunami,and the 2003SARSandbird flu outbreaks.

During five years atCNNWorldwide, Lui anchored and reported on all CNN English-language networks, includingCNNUS,CNN International,andHLN.He anchored live breaking stories such as the2009 Gaza-Israel War,Virginia Tech Massacre,2006 Hezbollah-Israel War,Mumbai train terrorist bombings,andMumbai Hotels Siege.

In 2006, Lui's undercover reporting exposed child sex slavery in Indonesia. Later, in a CNN Freedom Project report, he investigated seven-year-olds sold toGhanaianfishermen as labor slaves.His field reporting explored political and civil rights controversies in the Asian-American community, including the 1882Chinese Exclusion Act,which led to a system of illegal immigrants calledpaper sons.He reported on the racially motivated killing of Vincent Chin and its association with the Muslim-American community's post9/11challenges.In addition, he reported extensively from theGulfon theBP oil spill.He receivedPeabodyandEmmyawards for his team reporting at CNN duringHurricane Katrinaand the Gulf Oil Spill.

Richard Lui interviews a guest for MSNBC.

Lui joinedMSNBCin 2010. Lui anchoredEarly TodayforNBC Newsfor several years. He is currently a breaking news anchor at MSNBC. He is based atNBC News's offices at30 Rockefeller Plaza.In the past, Lui covered sports for both NBC News and MSNBC morning shows. He also served as news anchor forThe Weather Channel’s program withAl Roker,Wake Up With Alwhen NBC co-owned the weather-focused network.

Some of the events he's anchored breaking coverage of include theScotland independence vote,2013 government shutdown,Boston Marathon bombing,Japanese earthquake and tsunami,NATO's attack in Libya,and theArab SpringandEgypt’s revolution.Lui's field reporting has included covering theFerguson unrest,Hurricane Sandy,and the2012 U.S. Presidential election.For the election, his reports ranged from the implications of theTea Party movementto presidential election night exit poll data.In an NBC News investigation, Lui reported on a phenomenon involving high-volume brothels in the U.S. where women are forced to have sex up to a hundred times a day.

Lui is a member of theAsian American Journalists Associationand was elected 2013 Member of the Year.

Personal life

Because his grandfather, an undocumented immigrant, filed falsepaper sondocuments, Lui's real last name is Wong.Lui is the son of aPresbyterianminister.He said in an op-ed he grew up on welfare and almost flunked out of high school. He is an automobile enthusiast, and is an aerodynamics and airplane industry hobbyist.In his speeches, he has said he started "wrenching" when he was 10.He studied inSpainand speaksSpanishconversationally.

Books

• Lui, Richard; French, Nancy (2021).Enough About Me: The Unexpected Power of Selflessness.Grand Rapids, Michigan: Harper Collins.ISBN978-0-310-36239-5.OCLC1225977675.

Films

• Sky Blossom: Diaries of the Next Greatest Generation(2020)

See also

• Notable University of Michigan Alumni
• Chinese Americans in New York City
• New Yorkers in journalism

External links

• Media related toRichard Luiat Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• MSNBC Biography of Richard Lui
• CNN Biography of Richard Lui

• AppearancesonC-SPAN