By Geralyn Magan
LeadingAge remembers the late Rob Hilton, retired CEO of the A.M. McGregor Group.
LeadingAge lost a dear friend on January 30, 2021 when Rob Hilton, the retired president and CEO of the A.M. McGregor Group in Cleveland, passed away unexpectedly.
“He just had this huge heart,” says Katie Smith Sloan, LeadingAge president and CEO. “He was very interested in serving more people in different ways. And he was really committed to the low-income population.”
Conversations with Hilton’s friends and admirers at LeadingAge focus on his two major contributions to the organization: his strong support for research and his strong belief in the value of international collaboration among providers of aging services.
SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH
Hilton helped spur a new avenue of LeadingAge research when he supported the first-ever study of the housing plus services models. That research began in 1999 after Hilton reached out to Robyn Stone, senior vice president of research at LeadingAge, for guidance in carrying out McGregor’s newly adopted commitment to “taking services to seniors rather than taking seniors to services.”
“He was one of the first people who really understood the importance of providers supporting research and he really got committed to our housing with services agenda very early on,” recalls Stone. “I don’t think much would have happened in this area of research had he not gotten us started.”
Hilton’s commitment led to a 2006 research report, funded by the newly established McGregor Foundation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which documented how housing providers around the country were meeting the growing need for housing-based services and supports among older adults with low incomes. LeadingAge researchers also used McGregor funds to organize four regional invitational workshops designed to develop a shared understanding of models linking affordable housing with health and supportive services.
That research formed the basis of the work that LeadingAge has been conducting for more than a decade, and which inspired a HUD-funded, randomized-controlled evaluation of a housing plus services model in 2017.
“Rob helped us grow our knowledge and understanding of the potential for this strategy, what people were doing, and what kind of support they needed to keep advancing this model,” says Alisha Sanders, director of housing and services policy research at the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston.
Hilton also brought a commitment to research and strategic planning to the Global Ageing Network, which he chaired from 2012-2013. He initiated that organization’s first strategic planning process and encouraged the network to incorporate applied research into its work.
“When he talked, people really listened,” says Sloan, who is the network’s executive director.
RENAISSANCE MAN
Hilton’s professional and personal life was animated by a range of interests.
Before joining McGregor, he had a successful career in international banking, living in Tokyo for many years. After returning to the United States, he settled in Cleveland, joined the board of the A.M. McGregor Home, and later became CEO of the organization. He was instrumental in establishing the McGregor Foundation to “support seniors in need and those who serve them.”
It was in Tokyo that Hilton and his wife, Dale, developed an appreciation for Japanese art and culture that continued for the rest of his life. He also found time to collect American and English pottery, engage in architectural and historical preservation projects, cook for friends, and read.
“He was a very interesting, creative guy—a renaissance man,” says Stone. “He was very curious; I think that was what I liked most about him.”
Hilton’s quest for knowledge led him to the classroom, where he earned a doctoral degree in management in 2005. His interest in learning also extended to the kitchen, whether he was taking cooking classes in Italy or exploring the cuisines of Asia or Australia.
“He loved food,” remembers Stone. “We had a number of meals together, but I remember one meal in Australia. We had some kind of an exotic seafood dish that you get only from the waters of Australia. He made sure that we went to just the right place so we could have this.”
Achievements aside, Hilton was best known for being what Stone calls a “good soul” and a “consummate gentleman.” Others agree. Sloan recalls Hilton regularly pulling out a chair for her at meetings and dinners. Sanders has fond memories of their informal chats.
“You ended every conversation with him, thinking, “He’s the kindest person I’ve ever met,’” says Sanders. “No matter what you were talking about, you just always felt like he was so interested in you, as a person and a professional. He just had such deep regard for people.”