Nationality Canadian Siblings Patrick Gil | Role Entrepreneur Name Scott Gilmore | |
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Known for Founding Building Markets Parents Collette Gil, Tom Gil Alma mater University of Alberta, London School of Economics and Political Science | ||
Scott gilmore peace dividend trust 2010 skoll awards for social entrepreneurship
Scott Gilmore is a social entrepreneur and writer who is known for founding the charity Building Markets and as an advocate for reform in the international development and charity sectors.
Contents
- Scott gilmore peace dividend trust 2010 skoll awards for social entrepreneurship
- Ualberta distinguished alumnus scott gilmore
- Early life and education
- Career
- Awards and honours
- Personal life
- References
Ualberta distinguished alumnus scott gilmore
Early life and education
Gilmore was born in northern Manitoba, the son of hockey player Tom Gilmore and Collette Gilmore. He is the brother of actor Patrick Gilmore. Gilmore grew up in Edmonton, Alberta where he obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Alberta. He later graduated with a master's degree from the London School of Economics.
Career
Gilmore was a Canadian diplomat who began his career in Jakarta. From that post he covered the East Timor conflict and later joined the United Nations peacekeeping mission UNTAET under Sergio de Mello. In that role he became disillusioned with ineffective donor efforts to fight poverty. Based on this experience he quit his job as a diplomat in 2004 to launch the charity Building Markets. and focus on entrepreneurship instead of aid as a sustainable poverty solution.
In 2006 Gilmore led a World Bank study to trace spending in peacekeeping missions that revealed only 5% of donor money entered the local economies. Based on those findings Gilmore launched a project in Afghanistan to channel international spending through local small businesses. This approach was successful and expanded to other countries. Building Market's "buy local" policy was officially adopted by NATO, the United States government, and the United Nations. In 2013 Gilmore was appointed to by the External Advisory Group overseeing the merger of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade with the Canadian International Development Agency. He had previously been supportive of the merger.
In 2014 Gilmore began writing a weekly column for the Canadian week national newsmagazine Maclean's.
Awards and honours
Gilmore was named a "Transformational Canadian" by the Globe and Mail and a Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum. In 2009 he was awarded the $765,000 dollar Skoll Prize for Social Entrepreneurship by philanthropist Jeff Skoll. The University of Alberta awarded him a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013. He received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for professional excellence.
Personal life
Gilmore is married to Catherine McKenna, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Liberal MP for Ottawa Centre.