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.
