Robert is the EVP/Chief Executive Officer of the American Institute of Architects. Since assuming management responsibility, Robert initiated two important investigations into the role of architects in society and the future of architecture practice. In partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative, Robert committed the AIA to a decade-long effort to make design a catalyst for improving public health through research grants, digital programs, and community planning.

Expanding awareness and understanding of architects’ essential role motivated Robert to launch a comprehensive effort to build a responsive and relevant 21st Century AIA that advances the position of architects and bolsters a national dialogue about the central role architecture plays in our everyday life. A primary goal of this repositioning initiative is to update the role of the AIA in light of the social, economic, and creative challenges facing the profession.

Prior to joining the AIA, Robert was Vice-President & Editorial Director of McGraw-Hill Construction and Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Record, where he also oversaw 16 print and 17 digital publications. Through his long tenure, Robert established himself as a spokesperson for the profession on important issues, such as the effect of architecture on climate and social and political questions involving the built environment.

Under his direction, Architectural Record garnered numerous awards, including 26 Jesse H. Neal Awards for magazine journalism and a rare distinction for a trade journal, the National Magazine Award for General Excellence conferred by the American Society of Magazine Editors.

In 2009, Robert received the G.D. Crain Award, for his lifetime contributions to editorial excellence in business media. In 2010, Alpha Rho Chi, a national architecture fraternity, named Robert a “Master Architect.” Selected for his contributions to communicating the value of design both within the fraternity and to the larger world, he serves in an honorary, mentoring role with students and alumni.

Robert is an accomplished communicator, having delivered numerous keynote speeches at U.S. and international events and interviewed leading figures in architecture. His book, Fay Jones: Architect, was cited for the “highest standards of scholarship, design, and production.” He has also served three times as the U.S. Commissioner at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Robert earned an M.Arch. degree from Tulane University, and a BA (cum laude) in English from the University of the South (TN). He is a member of CICA, the International Circle of Architecture Critics.