James Hanusa, MBA

James Hanusa, MBA is cofounder and Venture Catalyst of Digital Raign. He is a lifelong technologist, speaker on innovation and creativity, and advocate for sustainability. He is technology advisor to the Emerging Future Institute, Chief Innovation Artist and impact advisor to Urban Innovation Exchange (UIX) Global, futurist at Virtual World Society, and Founding Member at Silicon Valley Blockchain Society. His current research is at the intersection of art, technology, and immersive experience.

In January 2019, James became an Impact Advisor for California Global Innovation Exchange (CAGIX), based in Singapore. They invest in companies that solve global problems.

Digital Raign is a purpose driven emerging tech & experiential agency. They produce a series of thought leadership think tanks at the Esalen Institute focused on the convergence of VR/AR, AI, Blockchain, social impact, and consciousness. James is the Ambassador at Esalen Institute.

At UIX Global, James works on business models and strategy development. UIX Global is an economic development agency that works on the design and development of innovation ecosystems that include sustainability, civic innovation, and creative culture.

Emerging Future Institute is a futurist think tank addressing world economic predictions, the future of science, business, government, technology, finance, mind and body, and society.

James has been a Social Innovation Consultant at Change Collective since 2007 through which he is working on honing his art of coordinating efforts of municipal government agencies and private sector and civic organizations in cities to develop Arts & Innovation districts.

Through Change Collective, James cofounded Green Economy Think Tank (GETT) in 2008, where he is currently SDG Cities Advisor. GETT is a nonprofit organization that catalyzes the convening of these new leaders from diverse sectors who are focused on implementing and improving our nation’s green economy.

In his role of New Initiatives for Burning Man, James was the business lead in the organization’s transformation to a non-profit Burning Man Project, worked on special projects, organization development, communications and innovation explorations and execution. He cofounded IDEATE, which cultivates a global community that embodies and perpetuates the principles of Burning Man in the World.

James’s background encompasses teaching social media at Ex’pression College, urban sustainability organizing for 350.org, Global Campaign for Climate Action, and others. He founded Change SF in 2009, a San Francisco-based citizen sustainability initiative. Ex’pression College is a digital arts college with focus on animation, digital design, film, and music recording.

James started his career as Director of Information Technology for Impact Music in 1992 where he worked for 5 years in Retail music chain and wholesale distribution covering North America and Europe.

His professional experience continued with roles in business development and strategic alliances for information technology and social media companies including Intel, SAP, PeopleSoft, E2Open, and The Garrigan Lyman Group.

He earned his MBA in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and a B.S. in Marketing from Arizona State University.

Read and listen to the conversation with James Hanusa at The Future IS Beautiful, hosted by Amisha Ghadiali. Watch James Hanusa talk at Augmented World Expo 2017 and watch Interview with James hosted by Rehan Allahwala.

Visit his LinkedIn profile. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.