Bob Youngentob
Bio
Bob Youngentob is Executive Chairman of EYA, LLC and one of the founding partners. His responsibilities include product and site visioning, investor relations, investment committee leadership, and strategy, particularly in acquisition and development. Bob has over 30 years of real estate experience.
Bob currently serves on the Board of Advisors for The Universities at Shady Grove and the Terwillinger Center of the Urban Land Institute. He is a former chair of the Washington D.C. District Council of the Urban Land Institute and currently is chair of its Governance Committee. Bob has served on multiple private school boards including The Maret School and Green Acres. He has been a guest lecturer on real estate at the Harvard Business School, Georgetown University, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, and has spoken at numerous conferences sponsored by the Urban Land Institute and Builder Magazine. In 2016, Bob was inducted into the W.H. Marvin Hall of Fame for Design Excellence. In 1996, he was recognized as an Entrepreneur of The Year by Ernst and Young. Bob grew up in the Washington D.C. area, graduated from Lehigh University, and earned a MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Show Note
- Executive Chairman role- Stays away from day to day issues and help be a mentor to the new CEO, McLean Quinn (5:30)
- Active leadership on Investment Committee decision making
- In some cases a lead developer on select projects…his preferred passions (6:45)
- EYA has evolved away from “entrepreneurial startup” now 30 yrs. old. (7:15)
- Establishing leadership team to last another 30 yrs.
- Sustainability plan around leadership and long term financing of company
- Put in place 5-6 yrs. ago
- Greater focus on multifamily than ever before (predominantly townhouse for sale housing)
- Potentially exploring geographies outside the DC area
- He is now the “grey hair” leader that followed his original partner, Terry Eakin (9:45)
Origins
- Born and raised early years in Boston (10:30)
- Moved to DC at 13 yrs. old (11:00)
- Attended Walt Whitman HS in Bethesda (11:15)
- Dad was a life insurance agent (now 91 yrs. old) (11:40)
- Approach to life…”cup is always half full”
- Involved in community and wanted to make a difference
- Believe that things will work out when times are tough thinking he learned from his Dad
- Dad believed in him and whatever he could do (12:45)
- Mom is still alive, as well, and he speaks with both of them every day, if he can (13:30)
- Real estate is a combination of the relationships, mathematics and creativity (14:45)
- Passionate photographer- HS friend introduced him to photography (15:15)
- Creativity and business aspects came together (15:45)
Education & Early Employment
- Lehigh Univ.- Started in Engineering and transferred to Economics and kept a passion toward photography (16:15)
- His Dad discouraged him from professional photography (17:00)
- Interviewer option- Commercial banking in Chicago (17:30)
- Continental Illinois training program in 1982 (18:00)
- Oklahoma lending to oil borrowers almost took the bank down in 1982 (18:45)
- Senior people left bank and he as a young person was given an extraordinary opportunity to take on more activities (19:15...
