▦ Moderator:
 Richard Lui
Anchor and Journalist, MSNBC / NBC News
Member, Committee of 100
Richard Lui has been an MSNBC dayside anchor since September 2010. He has anchored some of the network’s major breaking stories, including the 2011 debt-ceiling debate, the Arab Spring, and the deficit super committee failure. His daily reports have included the Tea Party movement, candidates’ social media strategies, and the link of unemployment to electability.
Before joining MSNBC, Lui spent five years at CNN Worldwide, most recently with CNN Headline News as the solo anchor of the 10 a.m. hour of “Morning Express.” He led the network’s morning political reporting throughout the 2008 presidential election. Lui occasionally is a guest on political talk shows The Bill Press Show and The Stephanie Miller Show.
Lui attended UC Berkeley majoring in the political economy of industrial society, later graduating with a B.A. in rhetoric. He received his M.B.A. from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and is enrolled at Stanford University in its program in International Security.
▦ Speakers:
 Gary Locke
Former U.S. Ambassador to China; Former Governor of Washington; Former Secretary of Commerce
Chairman-Elect, Committee of 100
Gary Locke has been a leader in education, employment, trade, health care, human rights, and the environment. The first Asian-American governor elected on the mainland, the first Chinese-American governor in U.S. history, and Washington State’s 21st Governor from 1997-2005, he assembled the most diverse cabinet in state history and more than half of his judicial appointments were women and 25% were of color. During his tenure, Washington was ranked one of America’s four best managed states.
As Secretary of Commerce from 2009-2011, he led President Obama’s National Export Initiative to double American exports; assumed a troubled 2010 Census but which under his active supervision ended as the most accurate ever as well as on time and $2 billion under budget; and achieved the most significant reduction in patent application processing in the agency’s history: from 40 months down to one year.
As Ambassador to China from 2011-2014, he opened markets for made-in-USA goods and services; reduced wait times for visa interviews of Chinese applicants from 100 days to 3 days; and through the Embassy’s air quality monitoring program, helped expose the severity of China’s air pollution, causing the Chinese people to demand action by their government.
Mr. Locke is the Interim President of Bellevue College, the third largest higher education institution in Washington State and Chairman of Locke Global Strategies.
 Ben Wu
President & CEO, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation; Former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy
Member, Committee of 100
An internationally recognized technology innovation expert at the intersection of policy and politics, Ben Wu has professional and management experience at the highest levels of federal and state government. A former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy, Ben is currently the Maryland Deputy Secretary of Commerce in the Office of the Governor and the Chief Operating Officer of the Maryland Department of Commerce. He is a key member of Governor Larry Hogan’s economic team and his Commerce Cabinet.
Previously, Ben was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve in the first and second terms of his administration, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, to lead activities in support of entrepreneurship and innovation, strengthening U.S. international competitiveness, improving technology transfer, enhancing research and development, and creating greater partnerships between government, industry, and universities. He was the highest ranked Asian American official at the U.S. Department of Commerce in President Bush’s administration.
Ben also held senior staff positions in the U.S. Congress for 13 years, where he directed the drafting of a multitude of laws commercializing federal intellectual property, promoting technology transfer and licensing, requiring Y2K readiness, and advancing math and science education, among many others. He has managed and been engaged in election campaigns throughout Maryland.
Ben has extensive experience in the legislative and executive branches of government working with Asia Pacific nations, as well as helping to develop trade and commerce in the region. He is the past President of the U.S.-Asia Institute, a non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. and established in 1979, that promotes dialogue between the United States and Asian countries. He has led several trade missions and delegations to Greater China. |
