George Gund

Part of a family distinguished for its wide-ranging philanthropy, Gund is a trustee of the George Gund Foundation, a Cleveland-based organization created by his father in 1952 known for its support of innovative community and national programs and organizations. He is a trustee of the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas, and is a trustee of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) Foundation.

Since the 1970's, Gund has been importing and distributing Eastern European films and encouraging independent film production in the United States. He is active in several international film festivals, as long-time chair of the San Francisco Film Society, which produces the San Francisco International Film Festival, a founder of the Cleveland Cinematique, and a long-time board member of the Cleveland Film Festival. He is a trustee of the University of California Art Museum at Berkeley and it's Pacific Film Archive, a director of the Sundance Institute, and a former member of the Ohio Film Bureau. He is a member of the Film Committee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and past director of the Museum's Anthology Film Archive. He has served as a juror at the Moscow and Istanbul International Film Festivals, as well as at numerous other film festivals and institutions throughout the world. He is an avid art collector, with his collections concentrating on Japanese, Western and Northwest Coast Indian Art.

He also captured the 1996 Lester Patrick Award for his outstanding contributions and efforts on behalf of amateur and professional hockey.

Gund and the Sharks were also honored as retail entrepreneur of the year by local businesses in San Jose by the San Jose Business Journal in 1996. With his brother Gordon, a minority owner of the San Jose Sharks, he co-owns the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. His love of hockey began on a neighborhood pond outside of Cleveland, was refined at eastern boarding schools and culminated at Case Western Reserve University where, as a student, he organized the school's first ice hockey team. He has played for the Cleveland Falcons, Sun Valley Suns and other city league teams in San Francisco and Seattle. He was instrumental in building an indoor rink in Sun Valley and starting senior, junior and women's ice hockey programs. He is a supporter of the U. S. Winter Olympic efforts, serving on the Hockey Committee of the U. S. Olympic Team and has been a sponsor of the U. S. Luge and U. S. Skiing & Snowboarding Teams. He is a member of the International Council of USA Hockey, a trustee of the USA Hockey Foundation, a member of the National Hockey League's expansion committee and past chairman and current trustee of the U. S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

In 1996, Gund was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from that institution. He is a board member and member of the International Founders' Council of the National Museum of the American Indian. He is a trustee of the Musical Arts Foundation (Cleveland Orchestra), chairman of the National Advisory Board of the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada (produces Cowboy Poetry Festival and other folklore events), a member of KQED's Signal Society and is a member of the Sierra Club National Advisory Board.

George Gund III, a Cleveland native living in San Francisco, has brought more than 22 years of National Hockey League ownership experience and a lifetime of enthusiasm for amateur and professional sports (particularly ice hockey) to the San Jose Sharks. On June 10, 1999, Gund was awarded the prestigious 1999 Jofa Titan/USA Hockey Distinguished Achievement Award.