Rob Briggs is the past president of the GAR Foundation and chairman emeritus and former CEO of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP, a law firm with offices in Ohio and Florida. He became a Knight Foundation Trustee in June 2002, was elected Vice Chair on September 20, 2005 and Chair in March of 2010.

He is an ex-officio member of all committees and chairs the Nominating Committee.

Rob began his law career as a staff judge advocate for the U.S. Air Force. He has been with Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs since 1971 where he specializes in corporate, business, and foundation matters. He also serves on the Board of Directors of FirstMerit Corporation and several other for-profit companies.

An active member of the Akron community who has served with numerous organizations over the years, Rob is currently involved with a number of regional organizations. He is a board member and former co-chair of OneCommunity, and board member and former chair of Invent Now, Inc. (formerly The National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation). He was the founding chair and current member of the Fund For Our Economic Future, which is an unprecedented collaboration created by more than 80 funders in Northeast Ohio to focus on regional economic development.

Among the honors Rob has received for his work are an honorary doctorate from Baldwin-Wallace College, the Distinguished Service Award from the Akron Community Foundation, the Hope Award from the Northeastern Ohio Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Honorary Alumni Award from the University of Akron, the Community Service Award from both the Great Trail Council of the Boy Scouts and the Northwest Summit County Rotary, the 1st Annual Team NEO, H. Peter Burg Regional Vision Award, the Northeast Ohio Regional Leadership Task Force 2006 Regional Vision Award, the Sir Thomas More Award from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Foundation and the Akron Bar Association, and he is a 2010 recipient of the Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award.

Rob resides in Canfield, Ohio with his fiancée, Alyssa Lenhoff, and her two children. He has two sons, a daughter, and five grandchildren.