Introduction of the Founders

Executive Chairman and President

Robert W. Roche

Robert Roche is co-founder, President, and Executive Chairman of Oak Lawn Marketing, a company he named after his hometown in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. He founded the company in 1993, along with Tadashi Nakamura, with the goal of enriching lifestyles worldwide by offering innovative home convenience, health, beauty, and wellness products.

Roche is also co-founder and Executive Chairman of Acorn International, a leading media and branding company in China. He is the President of Roche Enterprises, a company that invests in a broad range of industry sectors, including consumer products, hospitality, real estate, financial, and logistics. Through Roche Enterprises, Roche has overseen the development of Sand Hollow Resort in Hurricane, Utah, and Gallup Land Partners in New Mexico. His companies also include IS Seafood, Redhorse Performance, Inc., and Green Rock Hemp Holdings, an integrated processor and marketer and CBD.

In addition to his successful business ventures, Robert Roche is a passionate civic leader who has made important contributions to improving U.S./Asia relations. He served as a member of the Japan Board of Governors for the American Chamber of Commerce and was one of the founding organizers of the American Business Community Nagoya (ABCN), which later became the Chubu Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ). As part of the ABCN, he initiated the Nagoya Walkathon and International Charity Festival in 1991, which continues to raise more than 6 million yen per year ($60,000 USD) to benefit local charities. He currently serves as Vice President.

Robert Roche founded the Business Forward Foundation and is also a founding trustee of Hope International Development Organization. He helped that organization launch its micro-credit operations in Cambodia. He also serves on the board of directors for the Center for a New American Security. Previously, Roche served on the board of trustees of the Nagoya International School, Center for American Progress, U.S.-China Strong Foundation, Organizing for Action, and as Chairman of Interworld and Relo Japan. He also served as an appointee of President Obama on the United States Trade Representative's (USTR) Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations from 2010 to 2014.

 

Roche financially supports international and domestic philanthropic initiatives, including endowing a Chair for Interreligious Research at Nanzan University's Institute for Religion and Culture at in Nagoya, Japan. He has also established a Master's of Laws (LLM) in International Business Transactions program at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, and supports schools and service organizations in the communities where he lives and works.

Fluent in English and Japanese, and proficient in Mandarin, Roche has lived and worked in Asia for more than 30 years. He first visited Nagoya, Japan, in 1983 as a student studying abroad at Nanzan University's Center for Japanese Studies, and returned in 1986 as a research student in the Department of Law. He received a bachelor's degree in economics and Japanese studies from Illinois State University-Normal, Illinois, and a law degree from The University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Robert Roche and his wife have three children and spend their time in Japan, China, and the United States.

Introduction of the Founders

Executive Chairman and PresidentRobert W. Roche

FounderTadashi Nakamura

Introduction of the Management Team

Member of the Board, Executive Vice PresidentNobutaka Aotani

Member of the BoardHarry A. Hill

Member of the BoardKojiro Tsumatori