John Roos served as United States Ambassador to Japan from 2009-2013. In August 2010, he became the first sitting U.S. Ambassador ever to attend the commemoration ceremony of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.
Ambassador Roos’ service in Tokyo coincided with the devastating 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis on March 11, 2011, when he led the American effort on the ground in support of Japan’s response to the disaster. In October 2011, citing his tireless and effective leadership during and after the disasters, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton awarded Ambassador Roos the prestigious Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service. In September 2014, Ambassador Roos was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus citing his “relentless efforts to forge a deeper bilateral security relationship between Japan and the United States,” and his “dynamic and steadfast leadership during Operation Tomodachi,” the U.S. military’s humanitarian response mission.
Ambassador Roos also led the creation of the TOMODACHI Initiative that followed U.S. disaster relief efforts. TOMODACHI is a public-private partnership designed to invest in Japan’s next generation of leaders and connect them to the United States. Ambassador Roos is a founding partner of Geodesic Capital, a growth stage venture capital firm, and a Senior Advisor at Centerview Partners, a preeminent mergers and acquisitions advisory firm. In addition to serving on the Mansfield Foundation’s Board of Directors, he is a member of the Board of Directors at Salesforce.com and at Sony Corporation and a member of the Global Advisory Board of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Previously, Ambassador Roos served as Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich, & Rosati.
Ambassador Roos is a graduate with honors and distinction from Stanford University and from Stanford Law School, where he was Order of the Coif.