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Taking Responsibility for the Whole

Our Staff

Our dedicated staff commits countless hours of hard work and research to the Academy’s mission to combat climate change and expand corporate consciousnesses. They work hard to embody the mantra “think globally, act locally."

Rinaldo S. Brutoco
Rinaldo S. Brutoco Founding President and CEO of the World Business Academy

Rinaldo S. Brutoco

Founding President and CEO of the World Business Academy

Rinaldo S. Brutoco, Founding President and CEO of the World Business Academy, offers a rare combination of market expertise, geopolitical insight, and long-range thinking, delivering clear, independent analysis of where the global economy is headed and what it means for investors, policymakers, and the public. He is a seasoned political and economic analyst, capital markets expert, and futurist known for translating complex global forces into clear, actionable insights. As the Founder and President of the World Business Academy and host of The Brutoco Briefing, a monthly members-only event held on Substack, he provides forward-looking analysis at the intersection of geopolitics, macroeconomics, energy, climate, and financial markets.

Leadership & Institutional Influence

Rinaldo is a successful entrepreneur, merchant banker, executive, author, Substack publisher, radio host, and futurist. He has published numerous cutting-edge articles and books that address the role and responsibility of business in relation to today’s critical moral, environmental, and social concerns. He is a regular keynote speaker at conferences and a guest lecturer at business schools such as Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Columbia Graduate School of Business, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and the Keenan-Flagler Business School at North Carolina University. For over 35 years, Rinaldo has been widely recognized as a practical visionary and change agent.

Current Positions:

He has also held leadership roles across influential organizations, including:

His work has consistently focused on aligning capital markets with long-term societal and environmental outcomes.

Markets, Geopolitics & Systemic Risk

Rinaldo’s current work centers on helping investors and decision-makers navigate an increasingly volatile and interconnected global landscape. Through The Brutoco Briefing, an exclusive, members-only forum on Substack that delivers real-time intelligence connecting global politics, economic forces, and capital markets, he delivers real-time insights on:

  • The interaction of geopolitical events and global capital markets
  • Inflation, recession, and stagflation dynamics
  • Systemic risk and where markets may be mispricing uncertainty
  • Capital allocation strategies in a post-globalization environment
  • Equity, bond, commodity, currency, and precious metals trends
  • And then goes one step further by examining it all through the lens of conscious capitalism

His analysis challenges conventional assumptions about growth, U.S. market dominance, and long-term economic stability, making him a compelling voice for audiences seeking clarity in uncertain times.

Energy, Climate & Innovation

Rinaldo is a recognized expert in energy policy, renewable technologies, and climate risk. His work emphasizes the financial and geopolitical implications of the global energy transition.

For his entire career, he has been an international leader in advancing the nature of good corporate governance, corporate accountability, business transparency, and ways that corporations can fulfill their social compact by providing goods and services that the public needs in financially prudent ways that are simultaneously consistent with sustainable environmental and employee compensation policies. He received a Congressional Commendation in October 2010 for his outstanding contributions to the field of corporate responsibility. Rinaldo was also the recipient of the 2017 United Nations Association Peace Prize given by the Santa Barbara Chapter.

Rinaldo served from 2011-2014 as a Senior Hydrogen Advisor to Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, then Director of Naval Research. Additionally, Stanley Weiss, founder of BENS (Business Executives for National Security), contacted him to help Don Carlsen open the first BENS chapter in California.

Early Career & Legal Distinction

At age 25, Rinaldo became the youngest attorney to argue before the California Supreme Court in California Public Interest Law Center v. Public Utilities Commission, one of the largest class action lawsuits in U.S. history at the time.

At the start of his career, Rinaldo ran a start-up, high-growth, and turnaround practice for over three decades, during which he regularly dealt with forensic accounting, restructuring, operations, and finance. In this work, he served as acting CEO, Board Member, and Chairman of the Board, as well as in other senior management roles, to turn his clients’ companies around or guide them successfully past the start-up phase.

In this capacity, Rinaldo was appointed by the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., as one of three Directors in charge of United Press International (UPI) the first time the company went into bankruptcy, with the task of taking over, running, turning around, and ultimately selling its five television stations (in major markets like Chicago) and over 240 radio properties that were held in a UPI subsidiary.

This foundation, combined with decades in finance and policy, informs his multidisciplinary approach to analyzing today’s most complex global challenges.

Publications & Thought Leadership

Rinaldo is the author and co-author of influential works on energy, climate, and global systems, including:

He has also published hundreds of articles examining the intersection of markets, sustainability, and global risk.

Publications:

  

Keynote / Expert Speaker (Selected):

  • Get Conscious Now! (April 2014) Rinaldo Brutoco shares his wisdom on conscious business practices, conscious energy, and environmental policy with Patricia and Stu. 
  • Global Hydrogen Panelist with German & Canadian Government representatives – Paris Peace Forum (November 2023)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology Forum of the Central Coast, currently Ventech,  (Feb. 2013) The Hydrogen Future: Transitioning Away from Dirty Power
  • Sustainable, Responsible Investing Conference (October 2012) In conversation with Mindy Lubber, President of Ceres The Practice and Politics of Aligning Business Interests with Human Interests
  • Sages and Scientists Symposium (March 2012) Eight Basic Human Rights, Climate Change and The Global Marshall Plan
  • Cortona International Trans-disciplinary Conference (September 2010) The Role of Business at a Time of Conscious Evolution
  • Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Center for Sustainable Enterprise, Distinguished Speaker Series (March 2008) Lemons to Lemonade: Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability as a Sustainable Business Advantage
  • One-week residential program developed jointly, and taught jointly, with the Dean of the Kellogg School of Management
  • Guest Lecturer at the Stanford Business School
  • Program lead for the half-day program with the Barcelona School of Management for the senior management of BMW

 

Podcasts Interviews: 

 

 

Robert Shelton
Robert Shelton Vice President, World Business Academy

Robert Shelton

Vice President, World Business Academy

Robert Shelton serves as Vice President of the World Business Academy, where he focuses his work on energy security, clean technology, and climate action.

Robert’s diverse career spans public-private development, software innovation, clean energy, and nonprofit leadership. He previously co-founded and served as CEO of Private Access, a pioneering privacy-management software company named one of Forbes’ “Most Promising Companies in America.” As a real estate developer, he led multiple large-scale public-private partnerships, including development of the Palm Springs Convention Center, the Anaheim GardenWalk entertainment complex, and several mixed-use hotel and civic projects across the U.S.  He also served for seven years as chairman of the Klinefelter Syndrome and Associates (KS&A now AXYS), a national non-profit advocacy organization that helped shape public discourse on chromosomal variations, genetic data access, and healthcare equity.

Robert is also the President and CEO of H2C Safety Pipe, Inc., a hydrogen infrastructure company developing next-generation pipeline solutions to address the safety, leakage, and scalability challenges hindering global hydrogen deployment. With decades of experience at the intersection of technology innovation, regulatory policy, intellectual property, and coalition-building among public, private, and community stakeholders, Robert leads H2C’s efforts to make hydrogen transport safer, more efficient, and commercially viable at scale.

Since 2017, Robert has overseen intellectual property and strategic partnerships for H2 Clipper, Inc., a company specializing in end-to-end hydrogen delivery. He has helped the company secure more than a dozen U.S. patents related to the long-haul, midstream, and last-mile transport of liquid and gaseous hydrogen, including innovations such as blockchain-based verification systems and in-line purity controls for hydrogen quality assurance and billing. He plays an active role in both companies’ industry alliances and commercialization strategies. In 2024, he served as Team Captain for H2C and NOV’s winning submission in the U.S. Department of Energy’s MAKE IT Prize contest, selected from among thousands of clean energy technology entries as one of just a handful honored nationally for advancing domestic manufacturing of key hydrogen infrastructure components.

Robert is a named inventor on more than 20 U.S. and international patents, with additional applications pending in the areas of hydrogen storage and delivery, infrastructure safety, and data systems. He holds a degree in Public and International Affairs from The George Washington University and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife and their two sons.

Viviana Gonzalez
Viviana Gonzalez Executive Assistant to the CEO

Viviana Gonzalez

Executive Assistant to the CEO

Viviana González joined Omega Point Institute in 2017 and currently serves as Executive Assistant to the CEO and Corporate Secretary of the organization.  A Santa Barbara native, Viviana has over 20 years of administrative experience in a wide range of industries. She has also worked with local charter and private elementary schools as the Diversity Coordinator, working with administrators, teachers, and parents, helping to teach empathy, and working to create an inclusive community. She prides herself on being able to be involved in projects that will have an impact on the world. Viviana is a dedicated life-long learner and credits her ongoing professional and personal growth to all of the incredibly amazing people she has been fortunate enough to work with and learn from.

Viviana is the proud parent of two incredibly hard-working daughters, both recent college graduates. In her free time, she can be found taking long walks with her dogs on the beach or hiking the scenic Santa Barbara trails, enjoying the striking views of the city, the ocean, and the Channel Islands.

Bob Beth
Bob Beth Special Advisor to the Clean Energy Moonshot

Bob Beth

Special Advisor to the Clean Energy Moonshot

Bob Beth joined the Academy in 2014 as Special Advisor to the Clean Energy Moonshot charged with evangelizing the Moonshot in Oceania and Asia Pacific and charged by bringing whole-system vision and leadership to creating joint social ventures to share and scale the Academy’s thought leadership and relationships in accelerating the adoption of a Zero Carbon Economy.

On behalf of the Academy, Bob is actively engaged in forming and nurturing relationships globally leading to private/public as well as social venture/philanthropic collaboration to bring significant contributions to the whole-system transformation of the world’s energy system from being fossil fuel-based to being zero carbon-based. He led articulating Impact Procurement as a general approach to using supply chain purchase commitments to unlock financing for the adoption of regenerative supply.  Bob is calling for a Clean Hydrogen Moonshot through an emerging commercial venture named AHA – Algorithmic Hydrogen Alliance in service to Global Goal 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy.

He opened a chapter of the Academy in New Zealand to serve as a base to accelerate New Zealand’s leadership as a supplier of renewable energy for export to Asia and Oceania. See this article of Bob’s keynote presentation to a government-sponsored Marine Renewable Energy Workshop in Wellington, NZ, 8 May 2015.

Bob thrives at the leading edge of innovative disruptions and has spent his four-decade career starting ventures that utilize advanced technologies and innovations in business models and human potential understandings to help new or existing companies leap well ahead of the competition often into uncharted new opportunities. During his many years based principally in San Francisco, Bob has been a close colleague or friend with several of the legends of Silicon Valley garnering great insights from these change makers.

Bob loves nature and adventure, and has been a lifelong sailor and snow skier. For over a decade, he has spent full seasons each year, effectively living off the grid, cruising his sailboat throughout New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific.

Karissa Garcia
Karissa Garcia Digital Brand Manager, Content & Community

Karissa Garcia

Digital Brand Manager, Content & Community

Karissa Garcia joined the World Business Academy in July 2020 as an intern, and currently serves as a Communications Assistant. A 2021 graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, she brings her background in political science, history, and digital marketing to the team. Karissa helps facilitate communication between the Board, Fellows, and the public by assisting production of the Academy’s written and digital content. Driven by the most pressing issues of our time, including environmental and social justice issues, she is dedicated to promoting the Academy’s work and connecting with our broader community to tackle these challenges. She also serves as the Digital Brand Manager for The Optimist Daily, an Academy project bringing positive solutions-news to readers around the globe.

Karissa has always been environmentally-oriented, especially after growing up in the Central Valley of California. After witnessing problems such as heavy pollution, deadly heat waves, and severe droughts in the region, she is happy to be part of a team dedicated to implementing solutions to such environmental crises and more.

When not studying or working, Karissa enjoys learning new historical trivia, practicing yoga, tending to her houseplants, spending time exploring the coast or mountains, and participating in water activities. She also has the guilty pleasure of watching a lot of reality TV.

Paul Wellman
Paul Wellman Office Manager

Paul Wellman

Office Manager

Paul Wellman joined the World Business Academy in May 2022 to help organize decades of our digital and paper files.

Additionally, Paul now handles facilities and IT for our Santa Barbara office. He administers websites for the World Business Academy, the Dorason, Corporation, and the Omega Point Institute. Paul also handles customer relations and co-administrates the website for The Optimist Daily.

Paul is a familiar face in town after nearly two decades as the photo editor of the Santa Barbara Independent. From 2001-2020 he covered most of the news stories for the Santa Barbara County newspaper. His daily assignments included photographing breaking news, crime, wildfires, storms, sports, City and County hearings, political campaigns, court cases, protests, performing arts, and personal profiles.

Paul is a bicycle commuter, a Farmers Market regular, and likes to window-shop boats in the harbor from a kayak.

Rick Wayman
Rick Wayman Executive Director

Rick Wayman

Executive Director

Rick Wayman is a values-driven executive with two decades of experience navigating the intersection of international policy, business operations, and social impact. With a career defined by high-stakes leadership, ranging from the boardrooms of emerging startups to the halls of the United Nations, Rick specializes in transforming visionary concepts into scalable, globally recognized institutions.

Rick’s professional trajectory is anchored by a commitment to addressing existential risks through strategic cooperation. He served as a leader in the international coalition that negotiated the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, an achievement recognized with the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. This landmark victory was the result of unifying a diverse global network of activists, researchers, and government officials through disciplined strategic planning and a shared vision for humanitarian security.

Beyond treaty negotiations, Rick has a proven track record of managing complex international legal and advocacy campaigns. He led the global civil society movement supporting the Republic of the Marshall Islands in its historic nuclear disarmament cases at the International Court of Justice. In this role, he recruited and managed a collaboration of over 100 global NGOs, providing the organizational backbone and logistical support necessary for a multi-year effort in the world’s highest court.

In the climate sector, Rick has been a leading architect of integrity and accountability. As Co-Founder of the Carbon Removal Standards Initiative, he spearheaded the non-scientific pillars of the organization, which seeks to realize a future in which carbon removal benefits both the climate and the economy.

As President & CEO of the Foundation for Climate Restoration, Rick led a global expansion into 19 countries. He was a pioneer in integrating equity and justice frameworks into the emerging carbon removal industry, ensuring that as the sector grows, it remains grounded in social responsibility and inclusive governance.

Rick holds a Master’s degree in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management from the School for International Training and a B.S. in International Business and Operations Management from Marquette University. His background in international business provides a pragmatic edge to his mission-driven work, enabling him to speak the languages of both corporate finance and global diplomacy.

A  long-time resident of Santa Barbara, Rick remains dedicated to fostering cross-sector partnerships that leverage the power of business as a force for global good and environmental restoration.

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