On Team Tobin since 1963
Herb, the eldest son of our founder, Ben Tobin, has led our company to the next level, having been exposed over the years to so many different aspects of the real estate industry. His passion for bringing talented people together has surely paid off. According to Herb, “We built on our strengths and still do.”
Working with his father for decades, he learned the “ropes” and has an intimate understanding of the “family recipe.” This recipe of ethics, integrity and instinct remains deeply ingrained in Herb as each day he plans for the long-term continuation of the family business, passing along his vast experience and the family recipe.
During the late 1960s, Herb was the Vice President of the family business. He played a significant role in the operation of the five-star historic Hollywood Beach Hotel until its sale in 1971 to the Florida Bible College. He also was intricately involved in the development of Hillcrest, a 2400-unit golf and condominium community.
In 1971, Herb left the family business and founded Herbert A. Tobin and Associates, a company specializing in the marketing, sales, and management of multi-housing developments. Three years later, the AMEX-listed Ryerson and Haynes, Inc. acquired the firm and Herb remained leading the company. The combined R&H group became one of the largest workout companies in the country during the REIT failures of that era.
In 1976, Herb returned to the family business, assuming a leadership role in all aspects of the real estate and country club operations. In the early 1980s, Herb became the President of the company. During his first decade, he doubled the size of the family business holdings and laid the foundation which set a course for what is today: Tobin.
Herb has been a Director of Unico Properties since 1992. Unico, based in Seattle, Washington, was founded by Ben Tobin in 1953 along with his partners from the Empire State Building, Roger L. Stevens and Alfred R. Glancy, Jr. Today, the company owns and manages over 17 million square feet of class A office space and multi-housing developments in Washington State, Oregon, Salt Lake City, UT, Denver, CO, Austin, TX and most recently in Nashville, TN. They also manage many $100+ million funds.
For more than 25 years, Herb served as Chairman of the Board of Union Bank of Florida, a $1.4 billion community bank. He was also a Director of Royal Palm Beach Colony (a public company) from 1990 to 2004, during which time the company did a $100 million liquidation of land and assets.
Civic, community and charitable organizations have always played an important part in Herb’s life. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Valor Foundation, a publisher of books. Herb is also the Chairman of the Board of the Ben Tobin Foundation. He is a Life Director and also chaired the Board of South Florida PBS, producer of “Nightly Business Report,” from 2000 to 2003. Mr. Tobin was a founding member of the Children’s Foundation of Greater Miami, FL, and is a member of the Honorable Order of the Kentucky Colonels, as well as the Bowman Foster Ashe Society at the University of Miami.
Herb served as the Mayor of Golden Beach, FL, for 10 years (1983-1993). Through their foundation, The Francine and Herbert Tobin Foundation, Herb and his wife, Francine, co-sponsor the Listeners/Oyentes Program® in partnership with the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Fran has been the Chairperson of the program for more than 40 years.
Herb is a Florida State Certified General Contractor (CGC002790) since 1971 and a graduate of the University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in business administration (1962). He proudly served in the U.S. Army Reserve for six years.
In those rare moments when he is not thinking about real estate or his wonderful wife of 59 years Francine and his fabulous family, Herb enjoys music—a lifetime passion of his—fine wine, and art glass.
“These days real estate is seen as an institutional business. It’s not. It’s a people business. Which is why we are still around.” – Herbert A. Tobin
