image via International WELL Building Institute
image via International WELL Building Institute

Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is joining the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, according to an IWBI announcement this morning. IWBI is a public benefit corporation promoting human health and well-being through the built environment.

Fedrizzi will assume the Chairman position immediately, and will take on the CEO role full-time on November 4, 2016 after stepping back from USGBC, where he served as CEO for 12 years since 2004. Fedrizzi’s experience at the USGBC is expected to help grow and expand the WELL Building Standard (WELL), a performance-based system introduced by IWBI in October 2014 to measure building features and health impacts.

“I can’t think of a person better suited to lead this process than Rick,” IWBI Founder Paul Scialla said in a statement. “His management experience and global vision will be huge assets to IWBI, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him.”

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to take on a leadership role with IWBI and build upon the work we’ve been doing at USGBC,” said Fedrizzi, who announced last summer his plans to leave USGBC that he co-founded in 1993. “Our buildings and communities should help humans thrive. Sustainability plus health is a powerful lens through which to view the world, and WELL has approached this goal in a similar way to how we developed the LEED green building program.”

WELL works closely with LEED in order to promote both environmental sustainability and human health. “Leveraging the strengths of both USGBC and IWBI will advance a much needed change in the improvement of the wellness and quality of life of our families, friends and colleagues through a healthier, more sustainable built environment,” added Fedrizzi.

Fedrizzi serves on a number of boards and advisory committees dedicated to human health and the built environment, including the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Bank of America’s National Community Advisory Council, and Clinton Global Initiative’s Scaling Sustainable Buildings Action Network.

Prior to becoming a full-time CEO of USGBC in 2004, Fedrizzi worked as volunteering founding chair of the organization. He founded a consulting firm Green-Think in 2001, and spent 25 years at United Technolgies Corporation before that. A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Fedrizzi holds a BA degree from Le Moyne College and an MBA from Syracuse University.

Read the full release here>>