Photo by Jon Sams
BBN Creative Management is a proud
IASB Member
BBN Creative Management is a Certified LGBT Business Enterprise
BLAIR BRYANT NICHOLS
Blair began his career in New York at the HarperCollins Speakers Bureau, a business he never knew existed. From there he had the privilege to helm the Hachette and Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureaus for GTN (now UTA Speakers), before moving west to work with Keith Ferrazzi (Never Eat Alone). He served as his Chief of Staff for 3+ years and learned how keynote speaking can be strategically positioned for corporate coaching and consulting, while also studying at UCLA-Anderson. After a few temporary roles during his last year of business school, he returned to the Speakers Bureau world post graduation. But after signing and establishing talent, growing and scaling valuable assets and businesses for bosses with nothing to show for it after leaving, he had enough.
He founded BBN Creative Management with a mission to serve diverse and socially-driven talent, to lift up the voices who aren’t heard as often, and to advance causes most aligned to his values. He has a deep expertise in developing speakers for corporate events, conferences, and other thought leadership opportunities, including internal and external communications. But more importantly, he helps his clients foster new strategies for operations, communications, business development and marketing across all appropriate areas to further develop and enhance their bottom line and brand. After 18 years in the industry, Blair knows that success as a speaker and entrepreneur will rise and fall. You need a business surrounding and supporting your speaking and pursuits, and you need the right strategy to make all the pieces fit together. That’s Blair’s sweet spot.
Blair earned his M.B.A from UCLA-Anderson with a specialization in Entertainment Management and a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Literature with minors in Communications and Gender Studies from American University in Washington, DC. He is also a graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course, a summer course at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he’s not buried in emails or Google Meets, he enjoys traveling to new and distant places, reading, creating, and spending time at home in West Hollywood or Lake Arrowhead with family, friends, his husband Gray (who designed this beautiful site, check him out at gjkcooke.com) and Shepherd-mix Aspen.
Testimonials
“Outstanding! That's the first word that comes to mind when I think about working with Blair. Blair helped explode my corporate speaking business 6x over the past year, and I could not be more grateful. Not only is he responsive and professional, Blair is also a true collaborator and partner who is always looking for creative opportunities to grow my profile and business as a whole.”
— Melody Wilding, LMSW and author of Trust Yourself
“Blair and I met and it was unintentionally perfect. Sure, what I do and what he does had an instant great connection, but it was Blair’s candor, focus and strategic mind that matched what I needed. As I continue to grow, Blair is there helping me find people and opportunities to make that happen, quicker and more aligned. Blair is the type of partner who you might sync up with for one reason, and then months and years down the road, realize how he can fill almost any bucket you need.”