Robert Hess is a Practice Leader and Senior Principal for Newmark’s Global Consulting and Strategy Solutions Group, responsible for strategy development, business development, market outreach and client service. Hess is a preeminent, sought-after service provider and respected leader in corporate location strategy, site selection and incentive negotiations. He has conducted approximately 300 assignments globally, across a variety of industries and asset types, including mega-facility projects in Asia, Europe and Mexico.
Hess has led over 30 major economic development strategy development initiatives, including states, regions, utilities and private sector developers. He has led the strategic placement and boardroom level business case support of over 100M SF of operations (all asset types) across the U.S. and many global markets and helped secure over $3.0B in bottom line cost reduction and financial incentives to support these efforts.
Partial Client List
- ASOS.com
- Boeing China
- Corning
- Gap Inc
- GRAIL
- Nike
- Novartis
- Samsung
- States of Mississippi, NY & Wisconsin
- Thyssenkrupp
Areas of Specialty
- Business Strategy & Operations Planning Methods
- Global Location Strategies
- Site Selection, Community Due Diligence & Implementation
- Supply Chain and & Logistics Network Planning
- Large CAPEX/Special Project Expansion Management
- Workforce and Labor Market Assessment & Analytics
- Economic Incentives Strategy and Negotiations
Professional Achievements
- Accomplished speaker and thought leader, having completed over 60 speeches and panel events in his career to a wide array of audiences, domestic and international
- Often quoted in leading papers/periodicals (i.e Wall Street Journal, Site Selection Magazine)
- Runs a series of blogs and podcasts on topics relevant to his client base
- 2013 Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame
Professional Affiliations
- CSCMP Associate Member
- IAMC Associate Member for over 15 years
- Site Selectors Guild - founding member, past board member, current shareholder
Education
Hess graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economic Geography/Urban and Regional Planning. He also earned an MBA in Marketing Management from DePaul University in Chicago.
Hess has completed executive development programs at Northwestern University for Global Supply Chain Management and Lean Manufacturing, Advanced Analytics and Automation; MIT for Creative Problem Solving/System Dynamics; and Oxford University for Scenario Planning. He has also completed multiple leadership development courses at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
