John Rakolta
John Rakolta | |
---|---|
United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates | |
Assumed office October 27, 2019 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Barbara A. Leaf |
Personal details | |
Born | John Rakolta, Jr.[1] June 15, 1947[1] Oakland County, Michigan, US |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Terry Rakolta (1976-present) |
Children | 4: 3 daughters (Eileen, Lauren and Paige) and a son (John Rakolta, III). |
Alma mater | Marquette University Bachelor of Science Civil Engineering (1970) Harvard University Small Company Management Program |
Occupation | United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates |
Known for | President and CEO of Walbridge |
John Rakolta Jr. (Romanian: Racolța; born June 15, 1947 in Oakland County, Michigan) is the current United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. He is the former CEO of Walbridge[2][3] (formerly known as Walbridge Aldinger), a full-service construction company headquarted in Detroit.[4] He was also one of the National Finance Chairs for Mitt Romney's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.[5]
Education and early life
Rakolta received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Marquette University in 1970 and then studied smaller company management at the Harvard Business School.[6]
All four of Rakolta's grandparents were immigrants from Romania.[7][8] He was - until he assumed office of US Ambbassador to UAE - the Honorary-Consul General[9] for Romania in Detroit.
Career
Rakolta's father, John Rakolta Sr. (1923–2003), was the head of Walbridge Aldinger before Rakolta.[5] Rakolta Jr. began his career at Walbridge in 1970,[10] and became president in 1979 and CEO and chairman in 1993.[11]
Rakolta is also on the board of the Munder Funds since 1993.[12]
In 2015, Walbridge and partnered with Brazilian company Construcap in the construction of a new 6-million-square-foot Jeep assembly complex and supplier park in Goiana, Brazil, and were honored by Engineering News-Record with the publication's Global Best Manufacturing Project of the Year Award.[13] In 2015 Rakolta was co-chair of the Coalition for the Future of Detroit School Children, which recommended reform for the school system of Detroit, including limiting the number of charter schools in the city.[14][15] Also in 2015, Walbridge began a multi-year transformation of the General Motors Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.[16] In 2017, Ford Motor Company selected Walbridge to provide construction services for the redevelopment of its Dearborn, Michigan, world headquarters and campus facilities.[17]
Political work
Rakolta was one of the National Finance Chairs for Mitt Romney's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.[5] Along with his work for the Romney campaigns, Rakolta was a major fundraiser for the Bush campaign in 2004.[18] Most recently he was State Finance Chair for Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan. Rakolta served as the chairman of New Detroit from 2003 to 2010.[12]
He was a financial advisor for Trump in Michigan and helped fund Trump's transition team after the election.[19]
In May 2018, Rakolta was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.[20][21] The U.S. Senate confirmed him on September 17, 2019, by a vote of 63–30.[22] In March 2020, Rakolta was appointed commissioner general of the U.S. pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.[23]
Personal life
Rakolta and his wife Terry Rakolta were married in 1976 and have four children: Paige, Eileen, Lauren, and John Rakolta III. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[12] Terry Rakolta is the sister of Mitt's former sister-in-law, Ronna Romney. John Rakolta is also the uncle to Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel.
In 1993 the Rakoltas bought a property near Palm Beach, Florida, where the gardens, designed by Jorge Sanchez, were given an award in 2013.[24]
In 2018, Rakolta was named Michiganian of the Year by The Detroit News for his advocacy work for Detroit public schools.[25][26]
Organizations and affiliations
- Chairman of New Detroit[27]
- Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren (Co-chair)[28]
- Engineering Society of Detroit[29][30]
- Metropolitan Affairs Coalition (Co-chair)[31]
Awards and recognition
- Black Family Development, Inc's Dr. Gerald K. Smith Award (2014)[32]
- Engineering Society of Detroit's Horace H. Rackham Humanitarian Award[29][30]
- Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit's Executive Leadership Award (2014)[33]
- New Detroit's Leadership in Race Relations Award (2015)[34]
- Urban Land Development Michigan Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)[35]
- Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship (2005)[26]
References
- ^ a b "Birth results for John Rakolta, Jr". familysearch.org. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ "Finely:Rakolta of to U.A.E for a tough new job". Detroit News. October 24, 2019.
- ^ "Building Design and Construction Consultants". Walbridg.come. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ "Walbridge Aldinger Co Bloomberg Profile". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c "U.S. Senate confirms Walbridge CEO John Rakolta for ambassador to UAE". Crain's Detroit Business. September 17, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
- ^ Constructorul Archived February 2, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, May 22, 2005, Ana-Maria Luca, Jurnalul Național
- ^ John Rakolta Biography Archived March 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Constructorul Archived February 2, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, 22 mai 2005, Ana-Maria Luca, Jurnalul Național, accesat la 23 aprilie 2017
- ^ Honorary Consulates of Romania in the US Archived June 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "John Rakolta joins Agree Realty board, is company's 16th-largest investor". Crain's Detroit Business. September 19, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
- ^ Melissa Nann Burke. "Senate advances Rakolta nomination for UAE ambassador". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c Bewig, Matt (May 6, 2018). "United States Ambassador to United Arab Emirates: Who Is John Rakolta, Jr.?". AllGov.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Best Project, Manufacturing: Goiana Jeep Assembly Plant". Engineering News-Record. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ article on Coalition for the Future of Detroit School children
- ^ Michigan Radio article on coalition cocharied by Rakolta
- ^ Ken Haddad. "See renderings of new upgrades coming to Warren GM Tech Center". Click on Detroit. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ "Walbridge Ford Dearborn Campus Transformation (DCT) Project Receives MIOSHA's MVPPC Rising Star Award". Michigan.gov. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ "The John McCain-Mitt Romney bond warms on the trail". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. July 19, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ article mentioning Rakolta as one of funders of Trump's transition team
- ^ Gray, Kathleen (March 28, 2018). "Detroit executive, GOP benefactor John Rakolta Jr. nominated by Trump as Ambassador to UAE". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ "PN2021 – John Rakolta Jr. – Department of State". U.S. Congress. May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
- ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: John Rakolta, Jr., of Michigan, to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Arab Emirates )". United States Senate. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ Ranju Warrier. "Commissioner general named for Expo 2020 Dubai US Pavilion". Construction Week. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- ^ article on Rakolta gardens getting an award
- ^ Max Ortiz. "John Rakolta Jr., 2018 Michiganian of the Year". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "Ambassador John Rakolta Jr. Profile". US Embassy. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Marti Benedetti and Constance Crump. "Transforming leadership is challenge of a generation" (PDF). Crains Detroit Business. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Melissa Nann Burke. "Senate advances Rakolta nomination for UAE ambassador". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "Horace H. Rackham Humanitarian Award". ESD. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "AIAG Names AlliedSignal, Walbridge Aldinger Executives To the Board of Directors". The Auto Channel. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Caline Malek. "Trump administration reveals new US ambassador to UAE". The National. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ "Archive: Black Family Development, Inc. 2014 Presidents' Dinner". Michigan Chronicle. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ {{cite web|url=https://www.theoaklandpress.com/news/nation-world-news/marketing-and-sales-executives-of-detroit-honors-top-achievers/article_7f19b002-b630-53fb-8544-7c3f26f30da6.html%7Ctitle=Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit honors top achievers|publisher=The Oakland Press|accessdate=}31 July 2020}
- ^ AJ Williams. "New Detroit's 'Closing the Gap' announces 2015 honorees". Michigan Chronicle. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Adrienne Roberts. "Event at Lingenfelter's Classic Car Collection to Benefit Ronald McDonald House". D Business. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
External links
- Latter Day Saints from Michigan
- American people of Romanian descent
- Harvard Business School alumni
- Living people
- Marquette University alumni
- Mitt Romney
- People from Oakland County, Michigan
- Michigan Republicans
- 1947 births
- People associated with the 2008 United States presidential election
- Florida Republicans
- Ambassadors of the United States to the United Arab Emirates