Charlie Woo is a trailblazing entrepreneur and civically-engaged Chinese American.
Woo is the co-founder and CEO of Megatoys, an international toy manufacturer company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company also has an office in Hong Kong as well as manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen, China, and in Commerce, California.
Founded in 1989 by Woo and his brother Peter, Megatoys has grown into a major manufacturer of toys, children’s seasonal gift baskets, and Halloween costumes, with 700 employees just in the Los Angeles facility alone. Woo is known as the founder of the Los Angeles Toy District. He is credited with turning the once blighted industrial area of Downtown Los Angeles into a thriving international trade business district. In doing so, he helped hundreds of immigrant entrepreneurs start their businesses and created thousands of jobs. He is also a prominent real estate investor and developer in the Toy, Fashion, and Arts Districts in Downtown Los Angeles.
Woo, a member of the Committee of 100, shared his “Chinese American Journey” at the C100 Annual Conference in Los Angeles on April 16, 2016. Launched in 2015, “Chinese American Journeys” is a series of TED-style presentations that showcase the inspiring stories of extraordinary Chinese Americans.
Speakers from 2015-2016 include:
NASA commander Leroy Chiao – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4ZRy…
AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAm9w…
Actress, director and producer Joan Chen – https://youtu.be/q5yOH9DDQDU
Celebrity chef Ming Tsai – https://youtu.be/hDecp2JOI5w
The Committee of 100 is a national nonpartisan leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, science, and the arts. Founded by famed architect I. M. Pei, master cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and many other extraordinary Americans of Chinese descent, the Committee has served for over a quarter century as a high-level bridge in the U.S.-China dialogue, fostering exchanges with the leadership of Beijing, Taipei, and Washington. C100 members are all pioneering U.S. citizens of Chinese descent who leverage their collective influence and resources to strengthen U.S.-China relations and serve as a policy resource for the Chinese American community.
