Mark Burnett has a long history of executive producing Emmy-nominated adventure television productions in international locations. Burnett's entrepreneurial spirit has helped pioneer the success of the reality "unscripted" drama series and bring it to mainstream audiences worldwide.

Prior to producing CBS's SURVIVOR, the most watched summer series in television history, Burnett founded Eco-ChallengeŽ and has executive produced seven Eco-Challenge events and programs, which have aired on MTV, ESPN, Discovery Channel and USA Network. The 1996 Eco-Challenge: British Columbia earned him a 1996 Sports Emmy AwardŽ nomination and the show a 1997 International Documentary Association Award nomination. Burnett received an Emmy AwardŽ for Outstanding Program Achievement for Eco-Challenge: Morocco and was awarded the prestigious Banff Rockie Award in the Sports Program category by the 2000 Banff Rockie Awards Festival.

Following his tremendous critical success with SURVIVOR and Eco-Challenge, Burnett has teamed up with USA Network once again to unveil his newest unscripted drama series, Combat Missions. It is a competition exclusively for four-person teams composed of special forces veterans from the ranks of America's military elite, including Navy SEALS, Green Berets, Marine Recon, Delta Force, SWAT, C.I.A. and more. While living on a secret military base, these teams compete against each other in a series of military missions that test their physical ability, tactical strength, and "dramatically" push their team dynamics to the limit.

Mark Burnett's continued success and innovative contributions to changing the face of nonfiction programming have recently landed him six 2001 Primetime Emmy nominations for Eco-Challenge: Borneo and SURVIVOR, including two 2001 Primetime Emmy awards for SURVIVOR in the Outstanding Program (Special Class) and Outstanding Sound Mixing categories for Non-Fiction Programming. Burnett has also been honored with a People's Choice Award in 2000 for SURVIVOR in the Favorite New Reality Program category and listed in Entertainment Weekly's "Top 101 Most Powerful People in Entertainment"; he also holds the Number 1 position on TV Guide's "Most Valuable Players" list and the Number 2 position on Access Hollywood's "Top 10 in Entertainment 2000" list. Burnett was a recipient of a Special Recognition Award for SURVIVOR from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and is a featured business leader in Variety's 2001 "A Tradition of Trendsetting." In addition to his producing credits, Burnett has authored two books about Survivor and his third book, Dare to Succeed: How to Survive and Thrive in the Game of Life, will appear in bookstores in September 2001. He has given motivational, leadership and team-building speeches for major corporations nationwide. He also served two elected terms on the Board of Directors for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in Los Angeles and is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Mark Burnett is a former member of the famed British Army Parachute Regiment, with active service medals in both the Northern Ireland and Argentina conflicts. He is an open water certified SCUBA diver, Level A certified skydiver, has completed a white water guide course, and is Advanced Wilderness First Aid certified.