Jon Roseman 

Yale School of Management

Age: 56

“I’m a people person, nature-loving, adventurous, intellectually curious, extraverted, empathetic, positive, an eternal optimist.”

Hometown: La Jolla, California and Tavarua Island, Fiji

Family Members: Mom (Anne Lauder), Sister (Vara Lauder), Daughter (Helena Roseman)

Fun fact about yourself: I surf professionally and love the adrenalin of riding big waves. I think this translated perfectly to the thrill of the academic rigor of an institution like Yale. I was also Tom Hanks’ stunt double in the film Castaway and was fortunate to perform all the stunts in the water shots and plane crash scenes.

Undergraduate School and Degree: BA Economics, Pennsylvania State University and University of California, Santa Barbara

Where are you currently working? Owner/Managing Director Tavarua and Namotu Island Resorts, Fiji Islands

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:

Part of the research team, Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute under Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Assisted with the 2023 CEO Summit.

Buckley Fellow, The Yale William F. Buckley, Jr. Program

Surf professionally and was featured recently for big wave surfing on RedBull TV (August 2022).

Founded several philanthropic organizations, including one that assisted the country of Fiji with over USD$8,000,000 in COVID assistance in the form of testing kits and vaccines. It is currently involved in the implementation of clean energy projects throughout the country, as well as assisting the Fiji Government with coastal village relocations as a result of climate change.

Co-founded the Scripps Health/Fiji Alliance non-profit to assist the Fijian Government Hospitals and the Fiji School of Medicine. Resulted in US and Australian medical teams visiting and preforming procedures (cataract operations, etc.), in addition to sponsoring Fijian citizens in need of advanced medical procedures in the US, especially pediatric cases. Extensive donation of medical equipment to Fiji

Adviser for Give Clean Water, a non-profit dedicated to providing filtered water systems throughout the world. Personally assisted in implementing clean drinking water systems throughout Fiji.

Developed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in collaboration with the Fiji Government and local villages to designate no-fish zones around reef perimeters to promote the propagation of coral and sea life.

Initiated a pilot program for a Tridacna gigas (Giant Clam) seeding/hatchery project on local reef systems in collaboration with the Fiji Ministry of Fisheries. Development of a sustainable food source for native Fijians in lieu of over-fishing and exportation of endangered clams.

Organized and hosted the World Surfing Championship Tour leg in Fiji (1999-2018). Collaborated with the Prime Minister of Fiji and the Minister of Tourism with international viewership of over 30 million people.

Founded “Day at the Beach” event in San Diego, Ca. for the homeless and disadvantaged to teach kids how to surf and appreciate the ocean.

Member, Rotary International, Sunrise Rotary Club, San Diego, CA.

Board Liaison and Consultant, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation

Event Chair, UCSD Moores Cancer Center, San Diego, CA.

Member, Surfrider Foundation, San Clemente, CA.

Member, Screen Actors Guild, Los Angeles, CA.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? There are several achievements and milestones that come to mind, but bringing my classmates to visit my island business in the Fiji Islands between class weekends was truly amazing. With everyone’s unique backgrounds both personally and professionally, and through the lens of the different focus areas in the EMBA program at Yale SOM, I feel that Fiji provided a truly unique experience for them beyond that of a regular tourist. We took advantage of every opportunity to engage in cultural experiences, learn about my company’s stakeholder sustainability practices, explore the different challenges to doing business in a developing country, and immerse ourselves in a raw tropical environment. It synergized much of what we had been learning in our coursework.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Being able to continually elevate the livelihood of the surrounding communities where our business exists while taking care of the environment in which we operate. We are currently helping to develop a framework for native stakeholder compensation for environmental resource use by the tourism industry that can be applicable to other parts of the South Pacific and throughout the world. To me this is the essence of sustainability and key to business longevity, and if successful, will be an amazing accomplishment.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? This is a tough question because I had several professors in the program that were amazing and left a lasting impact. I took two courses by Douglas Kaiser, Joseph M. Field ’55 Yale Professor of Law, that were very relevant to my work. In particular, Climate Change: Law, Policy, & Opportunity hit home as I’m witnessing first-hand the effects of climate change in Fiji and other South Pacific Island Nations. He has a great teaching style and ability to prompt intellectual and diverse debates in class, and I feel I retained much in this class that I will carry forward in my career.

Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? Yale SOM’s mission is to educate leaders for business and society. The society element of this caught my interest as a large part of my work in the Fiji Islands is centered around raising the standard of living for the native Fijian people through stakeholder engagement. Being in the hospitality industry and having two island resorts, I’ve witnessed firsthand the effects of global warming, with the erosion of sand levels making these islands more vulnerable, including coastal villages being flooded for the first time in their recorded history. The effects of unsustainable tourism aren’t helping. Mangrove depletion, reef degradation, and endangered species are just some of the issues Fiji is contending with, together with the inherent economic challenges of a developing country. The sustainability focus at Yale SOM’s EMBA program was key to understanding these issues, and it’s opened my eyes to novel solutions and approaches.

What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? While my work in the tourism industry in the Fiji Island has always incorporated sustainability practices, the tools and skillsets I acquired during my time at SOM advanced my knowledge base beyond that which I thought I was capable. There are so many challenges to doing business in Fiji. Balancing the different stakeholders needs, including those of the native people and the Fiji government while maintaining business profitability are but a few. Having a unique human resource approach is also essential to the management of the existing culture and surroundings, while carefully inspiring necessary change.

Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? Probably the biggest challenge for me was the fact that I applied and entered the EMBA program during the pandemic. Unfortunately, my resorts were closed as public air travel to Fiji was halted and general tourism ceased. We had a skeleton crew running the islands, but we were keeping all of our non-working staff (150) fully employed, while simultaneously providing aid for the country through some of our affiliate philanthropic organizations. For a while there, it looked like there was no end in sight to the pandemic and I was questioning the long-term solvency of my businesses and the livelihood of the communities that depended on us. I was trying to solve for this while commuting back and forth to Yale handling my course load and being a dad to my daughter at the same time. Somehow it all worked out; in fact, I was able to make better business decisions as my brain was focused academically and I was exposed to ideas and concepts I would have never considered. When we finally were able to open again, I had a completely different, broader perspective on our business and crisis management.

What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? Your fellow cohort is key to your success. Put yourself out there to others and don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed. Remember to enjoy the academic ride because it’s a great one. No matter how busy your mind gets, stay active physically because that truly does help the brain process information better. And don’t forget the people who matter in the other parts of your life.

What is the biggest myth about going back to school? It was having the time to able to manage your career, family and school at the same time. While it is difficult, especially in the beginning, understand that it’s an adjustment and that human beings are capable of taking on a lot. Going back to school actually helped me manage my time better, even during the times I commuted directly from Fiji to New Haven that required 16 hours in the air.

What was your biggest regret in business school? One of the hardest things to come to terms with is not having the time to do everything offered at a program like the Yale SOM EMBA. You can take cross campus electives at any of Yale’s schools such as Yale Law, but your calendar can only handle so much, especially when you commute from farther away. Instead, you must be very selective of the extra classes and workshops and clubs you choose as they are all so great.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I truly admire all my fellow classmates. They are so unique and have done so much in their careers and lives already, so this is a tough question. However, one of my classmates in particular, Loly Ogundadegbe, really inspired me. Not only does she currently have a challenging position in the Aerospace Industry, but she wants to start the first of its kind aircraft maintenance company in her native country of Nigeria. She always put in extra effort in her coursework, and this was on top of having her first child in year one of the program that didn’t slow her motivation down one bit. I was especially lucky to have her on my learning team and truly enjoyed working with her on various projects and presentations.

What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? I wanted to challenge myself in business school, and part of that challenge comes from being in person surrounded by 75 of the most intelligent, diverse, and intellectually curious individuals that made up my cohort. The class discussions we had can’t be duplicated online, and the perspectives they offered from their respective professional fields were brilliant.

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I want to leverage the academic knowledge and connections that I gained from my time at Yale SOM and combine it with my work and life experience to develop sustainable business models that make a difference in the lives of the people in Fiji and the South Pacific, and the world in general.

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