Brian Gott is a Los Angeles-based producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Brian spent 12 years at the entertainment industry’s global media outlet Variety, serving as the organization’s Publisher since 2009. In his time there, he conceived of and launched that brand’s philanthropic efforts, which in a 4-year span generated more than $6M in charitable contributions, benefitting more than 50 non-profit organizations.

Gott received the United Nations Foundation’s highest honor, the Global Leadership Award, for his role in mobilizing the entertainment industry to use its collective resources to support UN and UN Foundation-related campaigns.

Brian leads the Burkle Global Impact Initiative at UCLA’s Burkle Center for International Relations. That program’s purpose is to work with the entertainment industry to engage more deeply with global social, humanitarian, and advocacy issues. The program provides access to information, resources, funding partners and experts so that storytellers are better equipped to tell more fact-based stories, and educate their audiences on real-world issues. The program has hosted global humanitarian figures including people such as Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala and US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, Oscar winners John Legend and Charlize Theron, philanthropists Melinda Gates and Ted Turner and entertainers Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez.

Gott is one of the founding members of the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council, a select group of individuals from various industries, convened by the UN Foundation to advise the United Nations and UN Foundation on how to accelerate their philanthropic efforts, and further the mission of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Gott has produced several celebrity-driven PSAs for organizations, including those for the U.S. Government’s “Let Girls Learn” campaign, as well as the United Nation’s climate initiative efforts. In recognition of his contributions to “Let Girls Learn”, he was invited to the White House to participate in the announcement by the President and First Lady of the Administration’s $250M funding of that effort. That initiative, spearheaded by Mrs. Obama, and implemented by USAID and the Peace Corps, provides access to education for girls globally.