Rob Collins is a Senior Director with PMA’s Boston Team. Rob joined the United States Navy Civil Engineer Corps in 1981 and spent 11 years in active duty until he joined PMA in 1993. He also joined the Reserves at that time until his retirement as Commander in 2005.
Navy Career
Rob was initially assigned to the Naval Air Station at Willow Grove, Pennsylvania as an Assistant Public Works Officer where he was responsible for all the facilities on the base. From there, Rob journeyed to Naval Station Adak, Alaska (one of the Aleutian Islands located 1,200 miles from Anchorage) for approximately 30 months where he performed construction project management duties. He was then sent to the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 (Seabees) in Port Hueneme, California where he served as a Plans and Training Officer and then Charlie Company Commander. As the Plans and Training Officer, Rob deployed to Sicily and was responsible for all training of the 570-man battalion. As Charlie Company Commander Rob deployed to Puerto Rico serving as the project manager of a 70-person construction crew responsible for multiple projects.
Subsequently, he attended Georgia Tech to complete his master’s degree. After graduation, Rob went to Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York where he served as a Warranted Contracting Officer and Officer in Charge of Construction. His time in the Reserves also brought contract management experience from projects he supported in Newport, Rhode Island; Naples, Italy; Souda Bay, Crete; and London, England.
Journey to PMA
As Rob was stepping down from active duty, he answered an ad in Engineering News-Record that PMA had placed seeking project professionals for the Big Dig/Central Artery Tunnel Project in Boston, MA. This resulted in an 8-hour interview with COO Gary Jentzen and several others, ultimately leading to Rob’s employment at PMA. Rob’s last day of active duty was March 1st, 1993 coinciding with his first day at PMA, also March 1st, 1993!
Transferrable Skills & Knowledge
Rob believes that everything he did while working in the Navy relates to what he does daily at PMA. During his years of Active Duty, Rob served in roles that put him on both the owner side of projects as well as the project management side. He also was able to gain a contractor’s perspective while serving as a construction manager. This gave him the useful perspective to see all sides of a project, which is a skill he leverages while managing projects at PMA.