Rob Weinhold

Rob Weinhold

Rob Weinhold

After 23 years of private and public sector service, Rob Weinhold decided to continue his career mission of helping organizations during critical times by launching the Fallston Group. Throughout his distinguished career, Rob worked on the core executive leadership team at all three levels of government and most recently on Cal & Bill Ripken’s core executive team at Ripken Baseball in Baltimore, Maryland. Rob maintains extensive experience in the areas of executive leadership, strategy, crisis management & communications, business management, marketing, communications, public affairs and operations. He has been routinely recognized for his unique ability to lead by creating vision and building consensus across diverse stakeholder bases. Rob has provided professional guidance to corporate executives, high-profile professional athletes, U.S. Attorney General, White House domestic policy staff, U.S. Congresspersons, state governors and other high-ranking public service officials. Rob earned his graduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University and undergraduate degree from the University of Baltimore, both marketing disciplined. He has taught in a variety of collegiate and professional forums. He is nationally published.

PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERIENCE

Prior to forming the Fallston Group, Rob served as Vice President of Amateur Baseball for Ripken Baseball, a Baltimore-based company owned by Cal & Bill Ripken. Cal Ripken Jr. is a Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and best known as the “Ironman of Baseball.” Rob was charged with leading the Ripken family’s core business and achieved many milestones during his near 7-year tenure. During his tenure, Rob managed all aspects of the Ripken’s amateur sports business – sales, marketing, sponsorships, business development, customer experience, operations and budget. Rob led the business to profitability during his first full year of leadership and ultimately grew revenues by 700% over a 5-year period, the highest growth rate in business unit history.

One of Rob’s major accomplishments included his leadership in developing a $23 million joint venture to build a world-class athletic complex – The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This was the first out-of-state athletic complex expansion in corporate history; he, along with his very capable team, led the business to operating profitability in only the 2nd year of operation. Rob oversaw the facilitation & decision-making of all legal/operating agreements, funding acquisition, design, construction, vendor management, hiring, sales, marketing, sponsorships, operations and all experiential components for the complex, from concept to operation. The world-class complex opened in June 2006 and plays host to teams from all over the United States and several parts of the world. To elaborate upon his business development experience, Rob also developed and/or activated the critical components of key corporate partnerships, including relationships with Major League Baseball, Under Armour, Nike, Chevrolet, Gatorade, Rawlings, State Farm, Universal Studios Orlando and others. Rob views his tenure with Ripken Baseball as a career highlight as he had the opportunity to work with a terrific group of people and within an industry that he has a passion for – sports.

PUBLIC SECTOR EXPERIENCE

Rob began his public service career with the Baltimore Police Department in a sworn capacity; he was promoted numerous times and was ultimately appointed to the Director of Public Affairs, an executive leadership position. While holding that high-profile position, Rob was responsible for the daily dissemination of departmental activities and information to local, national and international news organizations, as well as various internal and external publics. Rob routinely provided timely, “on-scene” media interviews in both crisis and non-crisis situations. He conducted press conferences, authored press releases/media advisories, prepared press statements and conducted several thousand TV, print, radio and electronic interviews during his tenure while responding to the very aggressive 24-hour news cycle. Rob is an expert at implementing internal and external crisis communication strategies which are built to convey key messages in fast-paced, high-pressured situations. These well-planned tactics allowed for a sense of calm and understanding to prevail in very sensitive and difficult situations. As a member of the Baltimore Police Commissioner’s Executive Command Staff, Rob advised leadership on public policy, communications, marketing, media relations and crisis management strategies while managing key relationships with advertising agencies, design firms and consultants. During his tenure, Rob earned numerous promotions and was honored with the Department’s Bronze Star for bravery, Distinguished Service Award & numerous Letters of Commendation.

After completing his tour with the Baltimore Police Department, Rob was appointed Chief of Staff of the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, a United States Presidential appointment. During his tenure, he managed the daily operations of key staff that were charged with administering and monitoring more than $400 million in federal funding and policy creation. Rob routinely interacted with and briefed senior Department of Justice and White House officials, including the U.S. Attorney General and White House Domestic Policy staff. He served as a national keynote speaker and addressed key public policy issues to advance White House public safety initiatives. As Chief of Staff, Rob oversaw the strategic planning, executive management and the operations of the Office. During his time in Washington, Rob often found himself on Capitol Hill educating U.S. Congresspersons in effort to advance policy and funding initiatives.

Rob completed his public service career with the State of Maryland where he served as the Director of Public Affairs, Policy and Research for the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention, a gubernatorial initiative which administered 24 federal, state, and special funding streams supporting 21public safety initiatives. He led an entity reorganization to increase operational efficiency and heighten customer service while educating lawmakers and key stakeholders about public policy goals. During his tenure with the State, Rob was a member and Chief Spokesperson for Maryland’s Cabinet Council on Criminal & Juvenile Justice. Rob was the recipient of the Governor’s Citation for outstanding service and performance prior to his departure to join Ripken Baseball.

Our Experts are available for Speaking Engagements or Media Interviews.

Email Rob at: Rob@FallstonGroup.com