December 15, 2014
Alumni Highlight: J. Robert Mann, Jr.
Since graduating from ECU’s MBA program in 2002, Robert Mann has stayed busy building high profile projects across the country.
He first worked in Washington, D.C. on the post 9/11 Pentagon rebuild, then tackled the Howard Hughes Medical Institute East Coast campus, one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United States. He also worked on the Newseum in Washington, D.C., an interactive museum of news and journalism.
After dating and ultimately marrying a Houston girl, he moved to the Lone Star State and today works with the Patrinely Group – a national real estate development firm specializing in commercial office and residential projects throughout the country. As development manager, Mann oversees the entire building development process for his projects, including design, construction, and ultimately occupying the facility.
His latest project involves managing much of the build of the new Southwestern Energy Headquarters, a 515,000-square-foot corporate headquarters campus in Springwoods Village, located in north Houston.
Mann credits his MBA and business minor for laying a strong foundation that has helped his career, complementing his construction management degree. It’s his business education, he says, that has helped him to see the full view.
“Business school was something I always wanted to do, and it gave me a fundamental understanding of the bigger picture,” Mann said. “Having a business base teaches you how to lead and improve, versus simply specializing in a technical trade.”
Originally from Dunn, N.C., today Mann lives in Houston with his wife, Elizabeth, and two daughters, Mary Evans (4) and Eloise Elizabeth (1).