Brian Burke
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Toronto, Ontario
Prominent NHL Executive | Advocate For LGBTQ+ Rights & Accomplished Businessman
- Videos
- Expertise
- Business & Corporate
- Business Management
- Business Leadership
- Innovation & Creativity
- Inclusive Leadership
- LGBTQ2S+
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Leadership Development
BRIAN BURKE BIOGRAPHY
Brian Burke is a prominent figure in the world of hockey, as well as in the media. His boldness and refusal to shy away from attention make him a well-known personality. He gained recognition for his advocacy of “pugnacity, truculence, testosterone, and belligerence” while leading the Maple Leafs. Burke’s involvement in hockey has spanned across various roles, including player, agent, league executive, scout, Stanley Cup-winning GM, Olympic GM, and media analyst. He has worked alongside notable figures such as Pat Quinn, Gary Bettman, and numerous future Hall of Fame players, making him one of the most knowledgeable and attention-commanding voices in the game.
Brian Burke most recently served as president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. He supported general manager Ron Hextall in managing all aspects related to the hockey operations department, and reported directly to the team’s president and CEO, David Morehouse. Burke, who graduated from Harvard Law School, has had a long 31-year career as an NHL executive, during which he won the Stanley Cup as the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks in 2006-07. He has also served in various positions for other teams, including as general manager of the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and as the president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames. In addition, he worked as an executive vice president and director of hockey operations for the NHL from 1993-98, working closely with commissioner Gary Bettman.
Brian Burke became the president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh team on February 9, 2021, and is currently in his second season in this position. He supports general manager Ron Hextall in managing all aspects related to the hockey operations department, and reports directly to the team’s president and CEO, David Morehouse. Burke, who graduated from Harvard Law School, has had a long 31-year career as an NHL executive, during which he won the Stanley Cup as the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks in 2006-07. He has also served in various positions for other teams, including as general manager of the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and as the president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames. In addition, he worked as an executive vice president and director of hockey operations for the NHL from 1993-98, working closely with commissioner Gary Bettman.
Burke began his NHL management career in 1987 as the director of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks, and has held different positions with multiple teams over five decades. He received The Sporting News’ NHL Executive of the Year award in 2001 and 2007. Although he was born in Providence, Rhode Island, he was raised in Edina, Minnesota. He has been an essential executive for USA Hockey and was the general manager of the 2010 U.S. Olympic team that won a silver medal. He was also the director of player personnel for the 2014 Olympic team and was one of the original members of the USA Men’s National Team Advisory Group.
From 2019 to February 2021, he worked as a hockey analyst for Rogers Media (Sportsnet) in Canada, and during this time, he also published a book titled Burke’s Law: A Life in Hockey. Burke played college hockey at Providence College from 1973-77 under coach Lou Lamoriello and spent parts of two seasons in the American Hockey League before earning his law degree at Harvard. He worked as a player agent from 1981-86.
However, Brian Burke’s accomplishments extend beyond the realm of hockey. He is a Harvard Law School graduate and an accomplished businessman with experience making difficult decisions for multi-million-dollar companies.
Despite his assertive demeanor, he is also a father who has experienced the tragedy of losing his youngest son in a car accident. Burke has had to deal with this immense grief while under the public eye. His son Brendan Burke came out in 2009, and Brian Burke became an outspoken advocate for gay rights.
In 2012, Brian and Patrick, a former NHL scout and Brian’s son , launched the You Can Play Project to ensure safety and inclusion for all sports participants, including LGBTQ+ athletes, coaches, and fans. The project was founded in honor of Brendan Burke, Brian’s late son and Patrick’s brother.
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Brian Burke Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Brian Burke Keynote Speaker delivers customized and tailored keynote presentations, workshops, and training sessions on a wide variety of topics. Each presentation is unique and are designed for a variety of audiences, industries, conferences, and event formats.
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FAQ
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Interested in booking Brian Burke for an event?
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Brian Burke is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada's talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Brian Burke speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget.
Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Brian Burke to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Brian Burke for your event. As Brian Burke's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization's behalf to try to help you get in touch with Brian Burke and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.
Brian Burke Disclaimer
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When SBC receives a request to book Brian Burke we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization's event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Brian Burke about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker's fees. If you are looking to hire Brian Burke, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.