Born in Brooklyn, New York, USA, in 1947, Robert was taught from an early age that he was expected to do better financially than the generation before him. The son of an airplane mechanic crew leader, Robert was accepted to the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he studied chemistry. Not long into his undergraduate studies, Robert realized he preferred working with people rather than being isolated in research laboratories. As a result, he petitioned MIT to allow him to take first-year courses for a master’s degree at the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. At the Sloan School, Robert realized his skills for organizational development and the commercialization of innovative ideas. In 1970, Robert graduated with both a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in management.

Following a path away from the sciences, Robert took a job with Citibank after obtaining his degrees. As the manager of a venture investment group, Robert impressed his supervisors, and was chosen to lead to a new office for Citicorp Venture Capital in San Francisco, California, USA. Not all his business moves were successful, however, including the bankruptcy of science business Antex. In an attempt to salvage some part of the Antex bankruptcy, Robert worked with Citicorp executive Eugene Kleiner, cofounder of venture capitalist partnership Kleiner & Perkins, a firm Robert joined in 1974. A year later, due to another failed science company , Robert lost his job; unphased, however, he persevered. Fascinated by recombinant DNA technology—the recombination of genetically engineered DNA—he began to cold call scientists working in genetic technology during his job search. His hope was that someone would be interested in commercializing recombinant DNA technology. He found an interested party in biochemist Herbert Boyer, who worked as an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

After a successful meeting, Robert and Herbert formed a partnership in which Herbert would handle the science and Robert would handle the business. They just needed a marketable product. As it happened, there was a significant market demand for human insulin, particularly because widely used pig insulin available caused allergic reactions in many patients. With promising market and scientific research on the creation of synthetic insulin, Robert and Herbert brought a proposal to Kleiner & Perkins—that proposal became Genentech.

Launched in 1976 with synthetic insulin, which has improved the lives of countless individuals around the world, Genentech continues to develop and release medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases. Robert served as CEO of Genentech until 1990, and then served as chairman until his retirement in 1996. Under his leadership, the company successfully developed the first drug ever produced using genetic engineering, became the first biotechnology company to go public, and was the first biotechnology company to sell its own drug. Among dozens of “firsts,” Genentech developed the first antibody test for cancer, the first treatment for small-cell lung cancer, and the first medicine for primary progressive MS.

Robert was inducted into the Global Business Hall of Fame in 2006.