Robert J. Abernethy

Robert J. Abernethy is an American entrepreneur, real estate developer, and philanthropist based in Manhattan Beach, California. He is the founder and president of American Standard Development Company and Self Storage Management Company, and has been a longtime leader in the self-storage and commercial real estate industries.

Abernethy has served on the board of directors of Public Storage for more than two decades and was inducted into the Self-Storage Association Hall of Fame. In addition to his business career, he has held numerous public service and public policy leadership roles, including as a trustee of the Brookings Institution. He serves as vice chairman of the Board and chair of the Audit Committee for the Atlantic Council. He is a trustee emeritus of Johns Hopkins University and was appointed chair of the board of directors of The Music Center of Los Angeles in 2025.

Early life and education Robert J. Abernethy was born on February 28, 1940, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was raised in Davidson, North Carolina. His father, George Abernethy, was a professor at Davidson College, and founded the college's Department of Philosophy. His mother, Helen Abernethy, was an artist who taught art history at Davidson College. Abernethy has one younger sister, Jean Helen Poston.

Abernethy attended Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering in 1962 and served as president of the student body. During his time there, he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for the Institute of Electrical Engineers. He later attended Harvard Business School, where he took classes taught by Henry Kissinger and Thomas Schelling, and graduated with an M.B.A. in 1968. Abernethy also completed postgraduate work at University of California, Los Angeles, earning a certificate in Construction Management in 1973 and a certificate in Real Estate in 1974.

Prior to beginning his business career, Abernethy entered military service in the United States Navy.

Military service From 1962 to 1966, Abernethy served in the United States Navy as a Supply Corps Officer. He became a commissioned Supply Corps Officer at the Navy Supply Corps School and completed an 18-month tour of duty in the South China Sea aboard the .

Following his overseas service, Abernethy served as the Operations Officer in the Data Processing Department at the Naval Air Overhaul and Repair Facility at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. During this assignment, he studied Tactical Data Systems and NORAD operations at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

Career After completing graduate studies at Harvard Business School, Abernethy worked for the Hughes Aircraft Company from 1968 to 1974, where he was promoted to Controller of the Technology Division, which focused on the design and prototype construction of satellites and spacecraft. Prior to his promotion, he served as Principal Deputy to the Chief Scientist for the AIM-54 Phoenix Missile Program. He has held numerous leadership roles within the Self Storage Association. Including serving as a director and being elected to national, president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer, as well as past regional president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. where he serves on advisory boards for the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), SAIS Europe, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has also served on advisory boards for the Peabody Institute and the Center for Talented Youth.

Since 1993, Abernethy has served on Davidson College's Board of Visitors where he was elected chairman and later became a Trustee of Davidson college for ten years.

In the Los Angeles area, he has maintained multi-decade service as a Trustee of Loyola Marymount University. He also sits on the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Board of Advisors, the UCLA Health Systems Board

Philanthropy and cultural institutions

Abernethy has played a long-standing leadership role in major cultural, academic, and community institutions in Los Angeles and nationally, with a particular focus on the performing arts, youth development, and healthcare research.

Abernethy has also been active in civic and educational organizations, including long-standing involvement with the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, where he serves as vice chair, supporting public programming and international affairs education.

In 2025, Abernethy was appointed chair of the board of directors of The Music Center, one of the largest performing arts organizations in the United States. He had previously served on The Music Center Board for more than two decades prior to his appointment as chair. He has also served on the board of the Peabody Conservatory. In recognition of his long-term service, the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles awarded him its Golden Book Award in 2019. and the John Douglas French Alzheimer's Foundation. He serves on advisory boards for Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital's Advisory Council for the Center for Surgery, Innovation and Bioengineering and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He is also a trustee of the Brookings Institution for the past two decades. He serves on the board of New America and RAND Center for Global Risk and Security. Abernethy also served on the United States Institute of Peace International Advisory Council. He was also a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

He has served as a member of the United States Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations , including participation in its Chairman's Forum, and is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows. Abernethy is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Meridian International Center.

Abernethy is a founding board member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and serves on the advisory council of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C., and Bologna, Italy.

Abernethy leads the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions; a nonpartisan organization focused on democratic governance and institutional reform. He also serves as a publisher of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, a quarterly political journal focused on public policy and democratic governance.

Earlier in his career, Abernethy held numerous public service roles in California. He was a Transportation Commissioner of the State of California, served as a Commissioner of the City of Los Angeles Planning and Zoning Commission, and a Commissioner on the Los Angeles Telecommunications Commission. and the California Arts Council. Abernethy also served as a director of the William H. Parker Los Angeles Police Foundation for five decades.