Charles Huang

Charles Huang has established himself as a transformative figure in both the gaming industry and higher education. Born in Taiwan and immigrating to California as a young child, he completed his BA in Economics and Asian Studies at UC Berkeley in 1993, where a pivotal Chinese history class with Professor Wen-hsin Yeh sparked his interest in Asian Studies. After working in his family's auto parts import business, he co-founded RedOctane in 1999 with his brother Kai, initially as an online game rental service. The company pivoted to manufacturing dance pads before creating Guitar Hero in 2005, which became the fastest video game to reach $1B in sales and the world's best-selling game in 2007-2008. Following Activision's acquisition of RedOctane in 2006, he ventured into new territories, co-founding Blue Goji and establishing Indigo 7, focusing on music, fashion, and health tech projects. His commitment to education manifests through his role as a visiting lecturer at UC Berkeley's College of Letters & Science, where he teaches entrepreneurship, and through the Huang Scholars Program, which provides students with language study and internship opportunities in Greater China. As immediate past chair of the UC Berkeley Foundation and co-chair of the Light the Way Campaign, he continues to bridge the gap between academic excellence and industry innovation while fostering diversity and economic mobility in higher education.