René L. Robert is Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, and a member of the Finance Committee. He is also currently a member of the Executive Committee, and before becoming a Trustee in 2012, he served on the Buildings & Grounds Committee. René is the founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Advantage Data, a financial information company based in Boston. Previously, René worked in the investment banking division of BankBoston Securities Inc. in High Yield Capital Markets and High Yield Research. He also worked as an Associate Economist at The Boston Company under Allen Sinai and in various divisions of Thomson Financial Services and Smith Barney. René attended, experienced and has a perspective on American public schools (Claflin School), private schools (International School of Boston, Fessenden and Belmont Hill), American universities (Cornell undergraduate and MBA) and French universities (Science Po, Paris). René attended the École Bilingue approximately 40 years ago as did his three brothers and sister. René has tremendous respect for the intellectual rigor and cost effectiveness of the French educational system. René is French-American. He and his wife have a daughter who attended ISB from Pre-K through Grade 4. She has been bilingual, bicultural and bi-national since birth. While he speaks uniquely French with his daughter, his wife speaks English with their daughter. The French community is extremely important to René and his family. He is delighted to contribute to this important institution.