Brian Roseboro '83
Contributing Via Public Service
A few years ago, Brian Roseboro received a voice-mail message informing him that President Bush was considering him for the post of assistant secretary of the treasury for financial markets. His response: He ignored it. “I thought it was a joke someone at work was playing on me,” Roseboro says. After finding out that the phone number — and interest — was genuine, he made a trip to Washington, D.C.
Happy in his New York post as deputy director of market risk management for the American International Group (AIG) and finding the idea of disrupting his family “not overly appealing,” Roseboro initially had reservations. Those were swept away, though, once he spoke with Secretary Paul O’Neill and learned what O’Neill hoped to accomplish. “And having a sense of public service, a sense that people should do that when called upon, I decided to do it.”
September 11, which came only two months after Roseboro was sworn in, ultimately added airline stabilization, New York City revitalization and Postal Service issues, among others, to the mix of his responsibilities. The attacks also had a more immediate effect: the Treasury markets were forced to close temporarily, in large part because vital operational facilities were destroyed. Roseboro is quick to credit resourcefulness and leadership in both the private and public sectors with the markets’ reopening on September 13.
Having spent much of his career in lower Manhattan at the Federal Reserve, the Bank of New York, Swiss Bank and AIG, Roseboro finds that his post’s responsibilities in helping ensure the country’s economic stability bring him some comfort: “I’m glad I did this to try to help, because any contribution I can make — I wouldn’t trade that for anything.” He has been active, working on several committees and boards, including President Bush’s working group on financial markets. For the past month, Roseboro has been serving as acting under secretary for domestic finance, and he was recently nominated for the position.