Jon Roth is an experienced senior executive and attorney. He has acted as Chief Operating Officer, Executive in charge of Project Management, as well as Chief Legal Officer for a number of companies including a film studio, a scenic railway, and a theme park and office park development.
He has done and been involved in property development, planning and concept development for major projects in the US , UK and Asia. Jon’s experience in the UK includes spearheading the granting of an outline planning permission for development of a major studio-theme park, including doing the executive analysis of the project’s feasibility and dealing with all logistical and environmental issues
Jon was Executive Director of Leavesden Developments Ltd. where, besides running the project management for the theme park development, he negotiated studio agreements for Star Wars: Episode One; An Ideal Husband; Sleepy Hollow; and Harry Potter I. At the same time, Jon also served as Chief Legal Officer for Leavesden’s parent company and various US and European subsidiaries.
Prior to joining Leavesden Developments Ltd., Jon was in private practice where he represented a number of foreign companies in both Europe and the US . Apart from providing legal advice and services in property and corporate acquisitions, Jon also served as temporary COO for a number of foreign companies, running such diverse operations as a parking garage company, a commercial real estate development company, a resort, and an educational toy company.
From 1982-1989, Jon served as Executive Vice President of Frigid Food Products and as President of its affiliate, Leelanau Transit Company. Frigid Foods was a multi-state, vertically integrated frozen food manufacturer and distributor. As Executive Vice President, Jon ran all manufacturing and was responsible for branded and private label product operations. As President of Leelanau Transit Company, Jon took a 31-mile land-locked railway and converted it into a successful scenic railway. Leelanau Transit Company had a book value of $30 per share when Jon took over. Seven years later, Jon sold the company for $1800 per share.
From 1977-1982, Jon was a founding partner of the law firm of Boltz Roth Silver & Friedman. Jon specialised in taxation, real estate law and complex business litigation. He continued to act as counsel to the firm from 1983 -1985 after joining Leelanau Transit Company. Jon includes amongst his former clients one former governor, a congressman, and several judges.
Jon is a Sloan Fellow, having graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School with a M.S. in Business. He graduated from Kenyon College , BA Honors, Economics, in 1973, and a JD in1976 from Wayne State University , Order Coif.
