Sohrab “Rob” Sobhani
Sohrab “Rob” Sobhani is leading an effort to democratize giving around the world growing out of the philanthropic models he has encouraged throughout his career as a lecturer on energy issues, U.S. immigration, U.S. energy policy and the Middle East. Rob’s work fermenting American energy alliances with countries across the Caspian Sea and Middle East have always included significant benefits for the local populations.
In 1996, Rob founded The Sparo Corporation to drive businesses to adopt a giving model where the customers, employees, and shareholders engage with the companies they do business to guide corporate philanthropy.
About Rob Sobhani
In addition to being the Founder and CEO of Sparo, Sohrab serves on the board of ZAC, an Artificial Intelligence company (zadvancedcomputing.com), and Sienza Energy (sienzaenergy.com), a battery company incubated out of CalTech Rob is also a member of the Iran Program Advisory Council
Previously, Rob was professor at Georgetown University, and has published one book on immigration: “Press 2 for English: Fix Immigration, Save America” and two books on foreign affairs: “King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia: A Leader of Consequence”, and “The Pragmatic Entente: Israeli-Iranian Relations, 1948-1988.”
In 2012 Sohrab ran as an Independent candidate for the United States Senate in Maryland. He received 16.4 percent of the vote, beating the state’s all-time mark for an independent or third-party candidate.
When asked about his hobbies and interests, he said: “My love of books is boundless, as is my joy of doing a minimum of 40 pushups, while dancing to Donna Summer and the Village People.”
"My love of books is boundless, as is my joy of doing a minimum of 40 pushups, while dancing to Donna Summer and the Village People." - Rob Sobhani
In the Media
As a Philanthropist
What’s Working in Washington EP 326 – How One Company is Gamifying Charitable Donations
As a Foreign Policy Expert
Karabakh: Iran’s Role in Post-War South Caucasus – Interview with Rob Sobhani
Dr. Sobhani in Panel of Energy Experts: “US Should Focus on its own Energy Mix, not on China.”
As a Candidate
2012 U.S. Senate Candidate, Rob Sobhani (Maryland)