SANTA BARBARA — The World Business Academy, a nonprofit advocating for socially responsible business practices, announced its new executive director this month: Kristina Jansen.
She has worked as chief of staff since October 2017 and is already accustomed to working side-by-side with CEO Rinaldo S. Brutoco to run key programs.
Before joining the academy’s staff, she held positions of business management in a variety of industries.
“After 17 years working in organizations that prioritized profit-driven activities, often to the detriment of other success metrics, I came to a point in my career when I felt called to shift my professional energies into a role that better aligned with my values,” she said in a news release. “In pursuing this calling, I left a lucrative position without a specific plan but found a new home at the World Business Academy.”
Her work has not gone unnoticed by Mr. Brutoco, who said, “Kristy brings tremendous experience, maturity, dedication, and wisdom to our team. She is exceptionally talented at identifying methods and solutions needed to achieve our strategic mission. As our organization evolves in these constantly changing times, we are fortunate to have a pragmatic optimist at our helm.”
“Kristina’s core strengths are in solving problems and finding efficiencies while also humanizing operations and objectives. She is passionate about helping to build a sustainable future through bridging communication divides and generating greater cooperation between industries (or individuals) reliant upon traditional and/or disruptive technologies to positively transform our world,” he said.
Ms. Jansen has produced webinars, videos, podcasts and events, seeking to bring the academy’s ideas to life.
“The challenge faced in the business world continues to be elevating stakeholder capitalism above shareholder interests as an economically viable and sustainable business model,” says Kristina. “The World Business Academy provides critical information, programming and mentorship to the world’s greatest business leaders in order to advance the inevitable paradigm of business in alignment with society’s core needs. I am thrilled to be given this opportunity, and I look forward to working with our Board of Directors, Fellows, and leadership team to achieve our mission.”
Since 2018, she has brought her talent for clarifying and bringing complex ideas to life by producing various webinars, videos, podcasts, and events for the Academy. In her new role, she will also lead The Optimist Daily, a solution-oriented news platform.
She holds a masters in Psychological Anthropology from UC San Diego and a bachelors from UCSB.
— Annelise Hanshaw
