Robert Obana

Robert Obana is the chief operating officer for Gladstone Institutes, a leading independent medical research and translational science organization that uses discovery and technology to overcome major unsolved diseases. He has extensive experience in the administration of higher education and independent research corporations. He has served as executive director and CEO of NCIRE – the Veterans Health Research Institute; CFO and director of finance for the Public Policy Institute of California; assistant vice chancellor for budget and finance at the University of California, San Francisco; western regional manager with KPMG, LLP; and vice president for finance and administration/CFO at Alliant International University. He is a board member of the Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium of the Bay Area Council, and is on PPIC’s Statewide Leadership Council; his recent board service includes Kokoro Assisted Living Inc. (chair), National Japanese American Historical Society, and Tri-Valley Bank (director). He holds an MBA from Golden Gate University and an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.