The Beyond Bretton Woods initiative proposes to create a multi-disciplinary international taskforce to design transformative, plug-and-play type financial solutions and disruptive policy recommendations to address both structural finance fault lines as well as crisis challenges affecting the international monetary order and society at large.

Vision Statement:

Beyond Bretton Woods initiative will lay the foundations for an international financial architecture that services people and enhances prosperity by focusing on fair, equitable, nature-centric, and regenerative transactions. 

Mission Statement:

Beyond Bretton Woods will trigger a radical paradigm shift in the purpose, principles and practices that underpin the systems and institutions that collectively make up the international financial architecture. The initiative attempts to deliver outcomes which best serve the interests of humanity and nature, ensuring inclusive and equitable outcomes, as well as quality of life for all. 

The Bretton Woods architecture no longer functions for the emerging poly-crisis.

Over and above the impact of societal and economic trends, the Bretton Woods architecture, and by extension the markets and society, are now facing concurrently, an eight-headed crisis consisting of:

1. Climate Change

2. Public Health Pandemic

3. Biodiversity Loss

4. Inequality and Injustice

5. Geo-political Tensions

6. Distrust in Democratically Elected Institutions

7. Loss of Food and Water Access

8. International Trade and Financial Instability

The 75-year-old international financial architecture is no longer adequate to contain and address the fault lines created by societal and financial trends, as well as the challenges of the current eight-headed crisis. 

The Bretton Woods Name

The Bretton Woods Conference, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after the conclusion of World War II.[1]

The conference was held from July 1 to 22, 1944. Agreements were signed that, after legislative ratification by member governments, established the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, later part of the World Bank group) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This led to what was called the Bretton Woods system for international commercial and financial relations.

Today's name, Beyond Bretton Woods  [Frank]

Core Members of the Initiative:

The BBW holds monthly meetings throughout the year to discuss work stream updates and progress, organization of events and representation at global events, and new directions, given the challenge imperatives. The initiative includes the following co-founders and partners, in alphabetical order:   

Co-Founders:

James Vacarro
Executive Director, Climate Safe Lending Network

James has over 20 years senior management experience in sustainable banking and investment. He advised on share offers and bond issues for leading charities and businesses, managed equity investments, and has been a non-executive director for a broad range of environmental and social businesses. James led many new initiatives and business ventures including setting up Triodos Bank's UK investment business comprising corporate finance and crowdfunding services, venture capital fund management and fund distribution.

Frank Van Gansbeke
Executive Scholar in Residence, Middlebury College

Frank has attained more than 30 years of global Senior Executive experience within the Corporate Finance and Capital Markets fields. He teaches finance-related courses at Middlebury College, as professor of practice; and is founder and managing partner of Goose Creek Ventures LLC, advising and angel-investing in global, early-stage companies evolving in FinTech, Medtech and sustainable development. Within this capacity, Frank is a board member of several companies with a global footprint. Frank is a regular contributor to Forbes magazine.

Partners:

Galia Benartzi– Co-Founder, Business Development, Bancor

Jack Byrne– Director of Franklin Environmental Center, Middlebury College

Raphaele Chappe– Chief Economist, The Predistribution Initiative

Sandrine Dixson-Declève– Co-President, Club of Rome

John Fullerton– Founder and President, Capital Institute

Owen Gaffney– Head of Media, Stockholm Resilience Center

Alexandra Groome Klement– Managing Director, nRhythm

Benjamin Hunt– Senior Policy Advocate, World Wildlife Fund

William Hynes– Head of New Approaches to Economic Challenges (NAEC) Unit, OECD

Rashmi Jaipal– Professor Emerita, Bloomfield College

Tom Jess– Program Manager, Club of Rome

Indy Johar– Founding Director, Dark Matter Labs

Rajiv Joshi– Senior Advisor, Strategic Initiatives, Columbia University

Steve Keen– Distinguished Research Fellow, University College London

Sarah Lavers– Founder, My Financial Voice

Augusto Lopez-Claros– Executive Director, Global Governance Forum

Hunter Lovins– Founder and President, Natural Capitalism Solutions

Stuart Mackintosh– Executive Director, Group of Thirty

Stephanie Marango– Co-Organizer, Well Tech Next

Darius Nassiry– Director, Climate Finance Advisors

Delilah Rothenberg– Co-Founder and Executive Director, The Predistribution Initiative

Aleksandar Simic– Researcher and Project Manager, Sustainable Finance Lab

Franklin Steves– Senior Policy Adviser, E3G

Tom Tayler– Senior Manager, Aviva Investors

Rens van Tilburg– Director, Sustainable Finance Lab

Ruud Veltenaar– Philosopher & Faculty Member, Nyenrode Business University

Ulrich Volz– Founding Director, SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance

Steve Waygood– Chief Responsible Investment Officer, Aviva Investors

Student Support Group:

Axel Per Schrotti– Student, Middlebury College

Samuel Sullivan– Student, Middlebury College

Dylan Taylor– Student, Middlebury College

Ambassadors’ Circle

Peter Blom
Former CEO (1995 – 2021), Triodos Bank

Sandrine Dixson-Declève
Co-President, Club of Rome

Owen Gaffney
Chief Impact Officer, The Nobel Prize

Joseph K. Ingram
Former World Bank Special Representative to U.N. & W.T.O. and former president of the North South Institute

Rajiv Joshi
Associate Dean of Climate Action, Columbia Climate School

Augusto Lopez-Claros
Executive Director, Global Governance Forum

L. Hunter Lovins
Founder and President, Natural Capitalism Solutions

Steering Support Group

William Hynes
Co-Ordinator of New Approaches to Economic Challenges Unit (NAEC), OECD

Darius Nassiry
Director, Climate Finance Advisors

Frank Van Gansbeke
Co-Founder of BBW and Executive Scholar in Residence, Middlebury College

Ruud Veltenaar
Founder, Speakers For Good

Lab Leads

William Hynes
Co-Ordinator of New Approaches to Economic Challenges Unit (NAEC), OECD

Delilah Rothenberg
Co-Founder and Executive Director, The Predistribution Initiative

Rens van Tilburg
Director, Sustainable Finance Lab

James Vaccaro
Co-Founder of BBW and Chief Executive Officer, Re:Pattern

Ruud Veltenaar
Founder, Speakers For Good

Steve Waygood, PhD
Chief Responsible Investment Officer, Aviva Investors

Expert Advisory Board, A - I

Jack Byrne
Dean of Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, Middlebury College

John Fullerton
Founder and President, Capital Institute

Oliver Greenfield
Convenor, International Institute for Environment and Development

Benjamin Hunt
Senior Policy Advocate, World Wildlife Fund

Alexandra Groome Klement
Managing Director, rhythm

Expert Advisory Board, J – R

Tom Jess
Rethinking Finance Program Manager, Club of Rome

Indy Johar
Executive Director, Dark Matter Labs

Steven Keen
Economist and Author, Debunking Economics

Stuart Mackintosh
Executive Director, Group of Thirty

Stephanie Marango
Founder and CEO, Coherent Health

Sara Murawski
Project Manager, Sustainable Finance Lab

Expert Advisory Board, S – Z

Aleksandar Simić
Researcher, Sustainable Finance Lab

Franklin Steves
Senior Policy Adviser, E3G

Thomas Tayler
Head of Climate Finance, Aviva Investors

Uli Volz
Founding Director, SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance