Mark Burnett

James Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a British-American television producer, best known for creating Survivor, The Apprentice, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, Shark Tank, and The Voice. He has produced more than 4000 hours worth of television programming, which have appeared on over 15 major television networks and aired in over 70 countries.

In 1995, Burnett developed his first production company, Mark Burnett Productions, which focused on reality television. In 2009, he founded Lightworkers Media with Roma Downey, which focuses on Christian media. He served as president of United Artists Media Group from 2014 to 2018, and chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group from 2018 to 2022.

Burnett has received numerous awards including 10 Primetime Emmy Awards and a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star.

In 2024, President Donald Trump appointed Burnett as the United States Special Envoy to the United Kingdom.

James Mark Burnett was born on 17 July 1960 in London, England. He is the only son of Archie Burnett and Jean Nicol Burnett (née Scott). Both originally from Glasgow, Burnett's parents moved to Dagenham where Archie was employed as a Ford Motor factory worker and boxing coach, while Jean worked at a battery compound. Burnett's father is Roman Catholic while his mother was Presbyterian. His mother passed away in 1993.

Burnett grew up in boroughs of East London and attended an Anglican parochial primary school. He undertook secondary schooling at The Warren School and later enrolled at Redbridge Technical College in Ilford. In 1978, he dropped out before finishing his degree to enlist in the British Army. Burnett volunteered for the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment for five years, serving in Northern Ireland and the Falkland Islands.

In October 1982, Burnett immigrated to the United States, where his friend Nick Hill, who had emigrated from the UK earlier, was working as a nanny and chauffeur. Hill knew of an open position for a live-in nanny with the Jaeger family in affluent Beverly Hills. Despite having no experience as a nanny, Burnett went on the interview. The Jaegers, realizing the advantage of having a nanny and security at the same time, hired him. After a year of working for the Jaegers, he moved on to another family in Malibu, California, taking care of two boys for $250 a week. He was eventually given a position in the insurance office owned by the boys' father. Two years later, Burnett rented a portion of a fence at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and sold T-shirts for $18 each during weekends. Realizing he made more money selling T-shirts, he left his insurance job.

In 1991, Burnett and four others joined a French adventure competition, the Raid Gauloises. Afterward, Burnett saw a business opportunity in holding similar competitions. He purchased the format rights and brought a similar competition, Eco-Challenge, to America. Eco-Challenge launched Burnett's career as a television producer.