All four of Rakolta's grandparents were immigrants from
Romania.[7][8]
He was - until he assumed office of US Ambassador to the UAE - the Honorary-Consul General[9] for Romania in Detroit.
Business 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 career
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] His tenure as an ambassador ended on January 19, 2021.[24]
In 1993, the Rakoltas bought a property on Everglades Island near
Palm Beach, Florida. The gardens, designed by Jorge Sanchez, were given the Lesly S. Smith Landscape Award by the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach in 2013.[25]
In 2018, Rakolta was named Michiganian of the Year by The Detroit News for his advocacy work for the Detroit Public School System.[26][27]