Robert A. "Bobby" Mandell (born 1947) is an American attorney, diplomat and businessman who also served as the

United States Ambassador to Luxembourg The United States ambassador to Luxembourg oversees the U.S. Embassy in that country. They supervise the embassy staff in the conduct of diplomatic relations with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and coordination of the activities of U.S. Governm ...

from 2011 to 2015. Mandell practiced law before moving into family business in

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

. In addition, he has been active in multiple state and national government bodies, including the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission, the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and the

President's Export Council The President's Export Council (PEC) is an American government organization that serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade. The Council advises the president of the United States on policies and programs that affect ...

. Mandell was a major donor to the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

presidential campaigns of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and supported the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. In 2019, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

appointed Mandell, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, to the Board of

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB; stylized as cpb) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to ...

, a rare instance of Trump appointing a non- Republican to a governmental agency.

Early life

Mandell was born in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in 1947, the son of Lester N. Mandell and Sonia (Margolis) Mandell. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1969. In 1972, Mandell received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from University of Florida's

Fredric G. Levin College of Law The University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida and second oldest overall in the stat ...

. He graduated from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

's Owner/President Management Executive Program in 2000.

Career

Following law school in 1972, Mandell worked as a lawyer in

Punta Gorda, Florida Punta Gorda (; ), a city located in Southwest Florida, is the county seat of Charlotte County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 19,471, up from 16,641 at the 2010 census ...

. He was partner in the firm Wotitzky, Wotitzky, Mandell, Batsel, Wilkins and Frohlich and left active practice in 1983. He is peer-evaluated as "AV" (preeminent) in

Martindale-Hubbell Martindale-Hubbell is an information services company to the legal profession that was founded in 1868. The company publishes the ''Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory'', which provides background information on lawyers and law firms in the United S ...

's legal listing. Mandell began work at his father's

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

real estate development business, Greater Construction Corporation, in 1984. Greater Construction named Mandell president of the company in 1989 after his father became chairman. Robert Mandell and four partners bought the company from Lester Mandell in 1998, and the company was later renamed Greater Homes. Mandell served as the company's chairman and CEO until national homebuilder

Meritage Homes Corporation Meritage Homes Corporation is a publicly traded American real estate development company that constructs a variety of single-family detached homes across the United States. It is the fifth largest home builder in the United States, based on 2023 ...

bought it in 2005, after which he served as president of Meritage Homes of Central Florida. Additionally, Mandell was chairman and CEO of Greater Properties Inc., a commercial real estate development firm. In addition to those roles, Mandell has served on boards, commissions and authorities in the private and public sectors. In 1987 Republican Gov.

Bob Martinez Robert Martinez (born December 25, 1934) is an American retired politician who served as the 40th governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Martinez was the first Hispanic American governor since colonial Flori ...

named Mandell to the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission, where he served as chairman until 1990. Martinez then appointed Mandell to the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, where he served from 1990 to 1995, held the chairman and vice chairman posts, and was known for reducing tolls and successfully pushing Florida's

E-Pass The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) is a highway authority responsible for construction, maintenance and operation of toll roads in five counties in the Greater Orlando area (specifically Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and ...

electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...

system. He has served on the boards of

Florida Hospital Florida Hospital was a subsidiary in Orlando, Florida that rebranded when its parent company Adventist Health System rebranded its facilities to the trade name AdventHealth. Before the rebrand it operated 28 hospitals. It signed many entertainme ...

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute Sanford Burnham Prebys is a nonprofit biomedical research institute located in La Jolla, California. The institute conducts basic research and translational research focused on human disease. Research at the institute focuses on cancer, neurod ...

in LaJolla, and

Vermont Studio Center The Vermont Studio Center (VSC) is a non-profit arts organization located in the town of Johnson, Vermont. It conducts the largest fine arts and writing residency program in the United States, with a significant population of international artis ...

, among others. President

named Mandell to the

in 2010. In 2022, president

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

appointed him to the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts.

Ambassadorship

President Barack Obama nominated Mandell as the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg in June 2011. As with other political appointees who have not previously served in such posts, several media outlets noted that Mandell had no diplomatic experience and had been a prominent fundraiser for Obama; Mandell donated $30,000 to Obama's campaign and $50,000 to his inauguration committee in 2008. Mandell raised more than $200,000 for the 2008 Obama campaign and was one of two dozen bundlers that were nominated for ambassador positions. Mandell's confirmation hearing took place in September, and the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

approved his nomination by voice vote on October 18, 2011. Mandell was sworn in on October 25, 2011. He presented his credentials on November 16, 2011. When Mandell arrived in Luxembourg, he filled the post left vacant following the resignation of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

venture capitalist Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in terms of number ...

Cynthia Stroum. Mandell's tenure was notable for the founding of the Luxembourg Forum, meetings between

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

justices and judges of the European Court of Justice, with the goal of identifying and working on legal issues where cooperation can provide a mutual benefit. In addition, during Mandell's ambassadorship the embassy worked with the government of Luxembourg to create a quarterly forum of U.S. business leaders, business leaders in Luxembourg, and officials of Luxembourg's government, with the intent of exploring opportunities for U.S. companies to expand in Luxembourg. Mandell resigned his ambassadorship in February 2015, saying it was time for him and his wife to return to private life in the U.S. On February 12, Luxembourg Grand Duke Henri honored Mandell by naming him a Commander of the

Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (, , ) is an order (honour), order of the Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by William II of the Netherlands, Grand Duke William II, who was also King o ...

an award that recognizes individuals for exceptional civil and military services.

Later career

In 2016, he was a prominent supporter of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

for president. In March 2019, Mandell was appointed to the board of directors of the

by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate. His term expired in 2022.

Personal life

Mandell is married to Julie Walker Mandell and has four children, including two stepchildren. He lives in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,795 according to the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was foun ...

References

External links

Farewell from Robert A. Mandell U. S. Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandell, Robert A. 1947 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Luxembourg American chief executives American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from Miami Florida Democrats People from Winter Park, Florida University of Florida alumni