Brian Gallagher

Brian Gallagher is a nonprofit executive. He is the former president and CEO of United Way Worldwide.

Early life and education Gallagher was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in Hobart, Indiana, where he was one of six children. and started with the United Way as a management trainee. In 1992, he received his MBA from Emory University, and in 2003 Ball State University awarded Gallagher an honorary Doctor of Humanities.

Career

After working for United Way for 21 years (with the last five at the United Way in Columbus), Gallagher was appointed to be the president and CEO of the United Way of America in 2002.

In January 2017, he was appointed by then-Governor of Indiana Mike Pence as a trustee of his alma mater Ball State University for a term lasting until December 31, 2020.

In March 2021, Gallagher resigned from United Way following allegations that United Way Worldwide retaliated against employees for reporting sexual harassment. One of the woman alleged Gallagher fired her as retaliation for reporting sexual harassment by another unnamed executive. A United Way Worldwide commissioned investigation found no “actionable harassment, discrimination, or retaliation” at the organization, but the women who filed the complaints called those findings into question.