1. John Victor Roos was born on February 14,1955 and is an American businessman, attorney, and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Japan from 2009 to 2013.
20 Facts About John Roos
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John Roos was born and raised in San Francisco and graduated from Lowell High School.
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John Roos attended Stanford University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors and Distinction, and Stanford Law School, earning his Juris Doctor in 1980 and achieving Order of the Coif.
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John Roos caught the tech startup wave and over the next 25 years became the premier legal firm in the Valley, growing from 50 employees to more than 1,500 worldwide.
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John Roos ran for and won a seat on the San Mateo-Foster City School District Board of Trustees in 1991 and again in 1995.
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John Roos was elected to membership in the Stanford Associates for his long-standing volunteer service to the university.
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In May 2009 Obama named John Roos to replace the departing Tom Schieffer as United States Ambassador to Japan.
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John Roos played a key role in managing the relationship through that transition, as well as President Obama's rebalance to Asia, placing even more importance on the US-Japan Alliance as the cornerstone of peace and security in the region.
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John Roos worked closely with Japan on issues related to the Hague Convention and handling of International Parent-Child Abduction cases, ultimately resulting in Japan's joining in 2014.
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John Roos's attendance was seen as an important step to advance President Obama's agenda to eliminate nuclear weapons.
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John Roos returned to Hiroshima for the 2012 ceremony, and became the first Ambassador to attend the Nagasaki memorial ceremony that year.
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John Roos's attendance was reported by all Japanese news media and widely praised.
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John Roos led the US Embassy's response to the nuclear crisis that ensued when a 50-foot wave hit the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
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John Roos led the US government's communication, and he used his Twitter feed to assure that the 155,000 Americans living in Japan received timely information about the disaster.
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John Roos marshaled assistance from a large number of high-profile celebrities to support the cause, including Lady Gaga, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Cal Ripken, and will.
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John Roos has leveraged his popular Twitter account to share information and generate excitement.
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John Roos is the Founding Partner, Geodesic Capital, which supports US-based entrepreneurs building transformative growth stage technology companies.
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John Roos is a member of the board of directors at Salesforce.
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John Roos additionally serves on the board of directors of The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation.
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John Roos is married to his wife Susie, and has two children, Lauren and David.