Lisa Hennessy has carved out her niche as one of the top driving forces behind Mark Burnett Productions (MBP), with her forte in multi-million-dollar international television productions.

After joining Burnett in 1995, Hennessy served for nine years as co-executive producer of the Emmy Award-nominated "Eco-Challenge" expedition-race series. She oversaw both the series and the 500-mile race itself, an enormous operation involving more than 1,000 participants, including event staff, competitors, 21 camera crews and volunteers. Staging a 500-mile race and massive TV production in some of the wildest and most remote places on the planet - including Borneo, Morocco and Fiji - has become second nature to Hennessy.

In 2003, Hennessy entered the world of sitcoms when she produced a pilot entitled "Are We There Yet?," shot entirely in Barcelona, Spain. She also executive produced the summer series "Boarding House: North Shore" for the WB, shot on location in North Shore, Hawaii. The six-hour series chronicled the lives of seven professional surfers as they chased one of the most prestigious achievements in surfing - the Vans Triple Crown.

Hennessy recently served as co-executive producer on NBC's "The Contender," the critically acclaimed, unscripted drama that told the story of the lives, hopes and dreams of 16 talented boxers as they competed for a $1 million prize.

Hennessy grew up in Chicago and holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Illinois. She also studied International Relations at the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, Austria.

When not globetrotting, Hennessy lives in Santa Monica, CA, where she enjoys an active lifestyle of snowboarding, mountain biking, yoga and hiking.