Chairman and Founder

In 2001, after 26 years as a top executive for such corporate giants as Pizza Hut, PepsiCo, Pearle Vision and Burger King, Robert J. Stetson began searching for a cause that directly impacts his children’s generation. His strong business background, combined with his Harvard economics education and 1992 work on Ross Perot’s “United We Stand” campaign, led him to create the precursor organization to Energy Literacy Advocates in 2005.

Mr. Stetson is a Founder and former President/CEO of Trustreet Properties Inc. (NYSE: TSY) – a restaurant-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) with assets of $2.6 billion. Trustreet (formerly U.S. Restaurant Properties) is the nation’s largest restaurant REIT with nearly 3,000 properties, including Applebee’s, Arby’s, Bennigans, Burger King, Golden Corral, IHOP, Jack in the Box, KFC, Pizza Hut, TGI Friday’s and Wendy’s.

From 1987-92 Mr. Stetson was Chief Financial Officer and later President-Retail Division of Burger King Corp., and CFO and CEO of Pearle Vision. At Burger King, he was responsible for managing more than 950 restaurants with 35,000 employees. Before joining Pearle in 1987, Mr. Stetson was a financial officer of PepsiCo Food Service International, which oversees the company’s foodservice operations outside the United States. He eventually became CFO of Pizza Hut.

Through his charitable foundation, in addition to helping support Energy Literacy Advocates, Mr. Stetson also actively supports Harvard University, Doctors Without Borders and other charities.

He received a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from Harvard University. Harvard awarded Mr. Stetson the Kronfeld Prize in Economics in 1972.

He lives in Dallas, Texas, and Fort Collins, Colo., with his wife, Cynthia, and has three children.