Gavin Berger / Board Member Spotlight
Gavin Berger is a senior strategist and innovator with over 30 years of experience in arts & entertainment. In this Q&A, Gavin shares highlights from his career and explains how relationships have driven his success. He also discusses his strong connection to Vermont and why he serves on the Board for VCET.
Blaise: Your first extended time in Vermont was as a student at UVM. What was your experience like there?
Gavin: My family has a long history at [the University of Vermont]. My father and my brother are alums. I was in the business school, and I spent a lot of my free time making friends from all over the country, who I’m still very much in contact with to this day.
Blaise: How did you get into the arts & entertainment industry after graduating from UVM?
Gavin: Well, I grew up in it. My mother is a very well-respected and famous entertainment lawyer and manager, so I always had the bug in me. During college, I jumped right in. I took a year off and worked in the industry back in New York. I was one of Robin Leach’s personal assistants for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. So I was back and forth a lot [from New York to Vermont].
Blaise: What was your early experience in the space?
Gavin: After graduating, I ended up working for Power Station, the recording studio, which I recently helped bring back to life with the Berklee School of Music. I also worked for a big booking agent, Spotlight, in the late 80s that booked everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Jay Leno.
Blaise: You have now worked for over 30 years in the industry. You have been an executive director, a senior strategist, and even operated your own consultancy. If there is one trait that has made you successful, what would that be?
Gavin: People. I’ve always been a people person. My mother taught me a long time ago, the personal assistant to the person I want to talk to is probably going to be more valuable in my career than the person I’m trying to get a meeting with. So I’m very good at keeping relationships and building them.
Blaise: Are there any specific achievements in arts & entertainment that you reflect fondly on?
Gavin: I worked with lots of amazing artists, directors, and musicians at Lincoln Center. I built a lot of art centers around the world, from Kuwait to London, and in the U.S. as well. I got to work with lots of different people trying to create cultural spaces. That’s the thing about the entertainment industry: you never know what’s going to happen. Each day is different.
Blaise: You are currently the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees at Art Omi, an arts center in New York. What makes the organization unique?
Gavin: Art Omi is a very special place. There’s nothing like it in the world. There are five disciplines in the residency program. Plus, we have an amazing constantly changing sculpture park and one of the few parks dedicated to architecture in the world. We are currently building a whole new 200-acre campus with 18 new buildings on it, each dedicated to an artist or collector. It was founded by an amazing human being, Francis Greenburger, who started Time Equities.
Blaise: Why did you join the VCET board?
Gavin: David [Bradbury] asked because I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. And I also had a strong nonprofit background. I also had more of the nonprofit background, whereas many other people on the board do not. It’s a fantastic board. The combined talent is pretty cool. Everybody complements each other.
Blaise: Why does VCET’s work matter to you?
Gavin: Because we make change. When my father went to UVM in the 50s, Vermont was a healthy state with the dairy industry. When my brother was there, Vermont was booming with IBM and Digital Technology. And then it started changing when I was a student with companies downsizing and the dairy industry changing. It’s an amazing state, but it needs investment, it needs business. VCET helps make this change happen.
Blaise: What’s your ideal Vermont day?
Gavin: Well it’d either be down at Lake Champlain or skiing, right?
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
You can follow Gavin on LinkedIn here. For more on his work with Art Omi, click here.