Alumni Profile: John Oros

BBA 1971
President and Chief Operating Officer
Enstar Group

John J. Oros, a 1971 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, along with his wife Anne Wackman Oros, who attended the UW-Madison School of Social Work have truly been a demonstration of loyalty and friendship to the School of Business and UW-Madison over the years.

John J. Oros was named executive vice president of the Enstar Group (NASDAQ “ESGR”) in 2000 and president and chief operating officer in 2001. Before joining that company, he was a general partner with Goldman, Sachs & Co (NYSE “GS”) in New York City. He is on the UW Foundation Board of Directors, has served on the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) Board and has been a member of the School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board.

Anne Wackman Oros for the past decade has worked with the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, caring for 19 foster babies, infants often born with some degree of drug exposure. She also works with Children’s Aid and Family Services of northern New Jersey to support and mentor parents.

In the Oros’ history of giving to the School of Business, contributions have come in the form of both time and treasure.  In 2004, they pledged $1 million to the School.  Their gift names two areas of the Fluno Center: the John J. and Anne W. Oros Dining Room and the Kenneth B. Wackman Courtyard. The gift also establishes the John J. Oros MBA Speaker Series in the school and provided funding for various other aspects of the MBA and executive education programs.

In addition to this major pledge, John has been actively involved within the School of Business. Serving on the Dean’s Advisory Board, co-chairing with Curt Culver on the Create the Future Campaign and speaking with MBA students for the Speaker’s Series are just a few of his involvements.

Of the John J. Oros MBA Speaker Series, he said he had discussions with Dean Michael Knetter. “We agreed that it would be great if we could bring some of the world’s leading business executives to Madison to talk with Business School majors and have them interact and be a kind of mentor to the students,” John Oros said. “The UW hasn’t had the money or the staff on hand to ask these people to campus. One thing I’ve found, if you ask the CEOs of America’s leading companies to come to speak at a great university like Wisconsin, they usually will do it. I was happy to give the seed capital to help get it started.”

In addition to giving the students access to real-world experiences, the Oros MBA Speaker Series can “help get UW-Madison on the map for some of these firms. If the chairman of GE, Ford Motor Co. or PepsiCo were to come to campus, you can be sure the recruiters will pay attention to that, and it might open some doors.”