BRITE ’22 SPEAKERS: ROBERT K. WATSON

ROBERT K. WATSON ‘06

Principal
Upland Road Advisors
Adjunct professor
SIPA, Columbia University

Rob Watson is a Principal at Upland Road Advisors and an Adjunct Professor at SIPA. Rob has spent three decades conceiving and implementing market transformation policies, programs and projects on four continents that combine regulatory push with market pull to optimize environmental and economic outcomes. Rob seeks to optimize energy and environmental benefits through the intersection of services and technologies across multiple sectors -- from green buildings, and sustainable urban mobility to zero waste management. Pulitzer prize-winning author and New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, calls Mr. Watson “one of America’s best environmental minds” and has featured his work in Hot, Flat and Crowded and The World is Flat 3.0. For its 2019 sestercentennial edition, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine recognized Rob as one of Dartmouth’s “25 Most Influential Alumni.”

A global leader in the green building movement, Rob spent 21 years in the international environmental non-profit sector, during which time he founded the LEED green building system of the U.S. Green Building Council.  Since 2007, he has been in a leadership role at four start-ups ranging from international and US-based green building services & technology companies to a zero-waste technology. Watson has been honored with several national and international awards and has authored and been featured in numerous articles and publications worldwide. Rob is a regular speaker and conference keynote. Mr. Watson has an AB from Dartmouth College, an MSc from University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Columbia University.