Robert Teitel is a native of Chicago who he formed the production company Menagerie Films with director George Tillman while the two were in college, producing the Student Academy Award-winning short Paula, as well as several music videos. In 1994, produced his first feature, Scenes for the Soul, which was shot in Chicago using local talent and resources

Robert followed Scenes with the feature Soul Food for Fox 2000. The success of the film led to a production deal with Fox 2000 and the beginning of State Street Pictures. His production credits are wide-ranging and include Men of Honor, Barbershop, Roll Bounce, Searching for Neverland, Mudbound, and the adaptation The Hate U Give. Robert has filmed over nine features in Chicago.

Robert graduated from Columbia College in 1990.