Robert Hobbs

Robert L. Hobbs Jr. was born in Youngstown, Ohio, to Robert Sr. and Alice L. McLaughlin. He was raised along with six brothers in Ohio’s finest village—McDonald. Robert Sr. was an electrician at the US Steel McDonald Works, until its closing in 1979, while Alice was busy raising a young family of active boys. The late 1970s and early 1980s were difficult on blue-collar families in the Steel Valley but provided the Hobbs boys with a strong work ethic and a never-quit attitude.

Robert Jr., known as Bobby growing up, earned his way through college by joining the Ohio Army National Guard as a member of the military police. He graduated cum laude from Ohio University in 1988 with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. After a short time at General Motors Packard Electric Division, he joined the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program as an employee of the General Electric Company, where he advanced through increasing levels of qualification and responsibility. Following the 1996 completion of a master of business administration degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York), he moved to the metro Atlanta, Georgia, area, where he still resides with his wife, Wendy, whom he met growing up in Ohio.

Bob has run 10 marathons, including 3 in Boston. He is an avid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He is quite relieved that "wait til next year" happened last year as the Chicago Cubs "flew the W" four times during a single World Series. Holy Cow!

Bob has worked as an executive in several software companies that developed products for the broadband, Internet telephony, cellular telephone, and satellite telephone industries. He is currently a certified professional coach, a strategic interventionist, and a Pose Method of Running technique specialist. He is focused on coaching executives in crisis, set-backs to comebacks, and parents and loved ones dealing with addicted family members.