Robert Lalka

At CommonWealth Advisors, Rob Lalka works with businesses and philanthropies to develop local, market-based solutions that yield strong financial returns while addressing social and environmental issues. Current clients include the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, 5 Stone Green Capital, and Sleep with a Purpose.

From 2008-2012, Rob served in the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships, where he coordinated Partners for a New Beginning, a global coalition led by Madeleine Albright, Walter Isaacson, and Muhtar Kent that invests in ten emerging markets based on local priorities. Rob worked closely with the White House to develop partnerships for numerous presidential initiatives, including the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, the President’s Forum with Young African Leaders, and the White House’s Interagency Task Force on Religion and Global Affairs. He co-wrote the White House Office of Social Innovation strategy for cross-sector collaboration, and he earned the State Department’s prestigious Superior Honor Award for authoring the State Department's first policy and legal guidelines for partnerships while serving on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff.

Previously, Rob worked in international investment banking, consulted on partnerships at the World Bank and UN, and assisted with recovery efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In 2011, Rob was named one of the Top 99 Leaders Under 33 by Diplomatic Courier and he became a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. Rob has been a Presidential Management Fellow and a Truman National Security Project Fellow. He is a graduate of Yale University and holds his master’s degree in global public policy from Duke University’s Terry Sanford School