Los Angeles-based producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist
Brian spent 12 years at the entertainment industry’s global media news outlet Variety, serving as the organization’s Publisher for almost half a decade. During his tenure, and in addition to his responsibilities managing a 100+ year old iconic Hollywood brand, he conceived of and launched Variety’s philanthropic efforts, which in just 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. He hosted the United Nation’s World Malaria Day at UN headquarters in New York City with the Secretary-General, and has been an active supporter of important UN events including World Humanitarian Day and International Day of Happiness. Gott also had the opportunity to spend time on the ground at Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya, with the UN and the UNHCR, to experience first-hand the critical work being done by the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets malaria prevention campaign. He considers that experience a defining moment in his choice to anchor his life’s work in pro-social and humanitarian endeavors.
Gott is also the recipient of a special award from the Center for Disease Control and the CDC Foundation, for his efforts around rallying the creative community to support critical health issues facing Americans today, ranging from the CDC’s response to the zika virus to its work with birth defects and developmental disabilities.
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 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, Oscar winners John Legend, Cate Blanchett and Charlize Theron, philanthropists Melinda Gates and Ted Turner and entertainers Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez.
Brian also serves as the Chief Innovation Advisor for the Entertainment Industry Foundation. EIF has served as the most trusted and turned-to philanthropic institution for the entertainment industry for almost 8 decades. EIF raises awareness and funds for critical health, educational and social issues by harnessing the collective power of the entertainment community. The organization has raised more than $1B in charitable contributions through its world-class philanthropic endeavors, including Stand Up 2 Cancer, Hunger Is, Music For Relief, iParticipate and many other campaigns.
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. He also served on the host committee for the United Nations 70th anniversary.
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 joined President Obama and the First Lady at the White House to participate in the announcement of that Administration’s $250M funding of that effort. The initiative, spearheaded by Mrs. Obama, and implemented by USAID and the Peace Corps, provided access to education for girls globally.
Brian was a member of the Obama White House’s entertainment advisory council. He actively supported several White House pro-social endeavors, including “It’s On Us” (the ‘stop campus rape’ movement led by Vice President Biden), “Reach Higher” (First Lady Michelle Obama’s effort to encourage youth to aspire to achieve higher education) and “My Brother’s Keeper” (President Obama’s inner-city youth empowerment campaign).
Gott serves as a global ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, whose purpose is to educate, prevent and ultimately eradicate HIV/AIDS globally. He proudly joins ETAF’s ambassadors, including Colin Farrell, Whoopi Goldberg, Paris Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor’s grandchildren, to continue the advocacy work started by Dame Elizabeth Taylor in 1991.
Brian is a global board member for Whole Child International. Founded by Countess Karen Spencer in 2004, Whole Child International’s mission is to elevate the quality of childcare worldwide. Whole Child focuses on improving the quality of care for vulnerable children by working within childcare institutions/orphanages, and in limited-resource childcare centers, where children often show the same unmet developmental needs and poor outcomes as those in orphanages. Whole Child’s program is built as a countrywide collaboration, working together with national governments and major local universities to implement a unified strategy across a nation’s childcare system.
Gott is member of the West Coast Advisory Council for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The mission on NCMEC is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization. Since 1984, NCMEC has served as the national clearinghouse and resource center for families, victims, private organizations, law enforcement and the public on issues relating to missing and sexually exploited children.
Brian is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, founded by Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg. The Starlight Children’s Foundation is one of the world’s largest youth health-focused non-profits, and touches the lives of more than 4 million children around the world annually. Starlight provides moments of happiness to critical, chronic and terminally ill children, so that they can forgot for a few moment out of their day that they are fighting illness.
