Rocco Rossi (born February 6, 1962) is a Canadian businessman currently serving as president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and was formerly the president and CEO of Prostate Cancer Canada.

Background

Rossi attended schools in Canada and the United States. He attended

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, Single-sex education, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious University-prep ...

(UCC). After graduating from UCC, Rossi studied at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Montreal, followed by studies at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

in New Jersey, where he graduated with a master's degree in politics.

Career

After graduating from Princeton, Rossi returned to Toronto to pursue a career in the private sector with roles at Advanced Material Resources (now NeoMaterials), the

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (management consultancies), Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three larges ...

Torstar Torstar Corporation is a Canadian mass media company which primarily publishes daily and community newspapers. In addition to the ''Toronto Star'', its flagship and namesake, Torstar also publishes daily newspapers in Hamilton, Peterborough, N ...

Labatt Labatt Brewing Company Limited (french: La Brasserie Labatt Limitée) is a Belgian-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Int ...

Interbrew Interbrew is subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is based in Breda, Netherlands. It has one subsidiary, Ambev S.A. of São Paulo, Brazil. Brands Interbrew brands have historically included Budweiser, Stella Artois, Boddingtons, Beck's, Sta ...

and MGI Software. He was recruited from Torstar by Interbew and became president of beer.com. Rossi was the chief executive officer of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario from 2004 to 2009. Under Rossi's leadership the Heart and Stroke Foundation built a $130-million reserve of tax-receipted funds. While some have criticized collecting and not using millions in funds for which tax exemptions were issued, Rossi has remarked, "It's a criticism I will bear with honour... I'm proud that we built a healthy, long-term balance sheet". In 2013, Rossi was appointed chief executive officer of

Prostate Cancer Canada The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and phys ...

. Rossi became President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce in 2017. Rossi has sat on numerous boards including the United Way of Greater Toronto, AMR, the Ivey Foundation, the Internet Advertising Bureau of Canada, Toronto's 2008 Olympic Bid and the

Empire Club of Canada The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

. He currently serves as a member of the Board and Audit Committee of TerraVest Industries.

Politics

Rossi ran for

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

in the 2010 Toronto mayoral election. In 2011, he won the PC nomination for the riding of

Eglinton—Lawrence Eglinton—Lawrence is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. It covers a portion of Toronto northwest of downtown. It stretches from Yonge Street in the eas ...

and ran as a candidate for MPP in the

2011 Ontario general election The 2011 Ontario general election was held on October 6, 2011, to elect members of the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Ontario Liberal Party was elected to a minority government, with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Pa ...

. Rossi is a former national director of the federal Liberal Party of Canada, and also managed

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014. After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2003 ...

's campaign for

in the

2003 Toronto municipal election The 2003 Toronto municipal election was held on 10 November 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees. David Miller was elected mayor ( Results of 2003 Toronto election). ...

Personal life

Rossi is an adventurer who has completed numerous endurance feats including walking the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Sai ...

, which is a major Christian pilgrimage route, cycling the 1,900 km length of

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost ...

for charity, and kayaking over 500 km from Toronto to Ottawa. In 2018, Rossi, acting as President of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, was one of several "business leaders" who lobbied Ontario Premier

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Cons ...

to repeal Bill 148, legislation implemented by the previous provincial government. Among other things, that legislation guaranteed workers paid sick days, equal pay for part-time work, and a C$1/hour raise to a

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...

of C$15/hour, to begin on January 1, 2019. Rossi publicly celebrated when Bill 148 was repealed, cancelling the planned increase of minimum wage. On December 31, 2018, the day before the cancelled minimum wage increase was to take place, Rossi tweeted photos of

caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the t ...

Veuve Clicquot Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin () is a Champagne house founded in 1772 and based in Reims. It is one of the largest Champagne houses. Madame Clicquot is credited with major breakthroughs, creating the first known vintage champagne in 1810, and i ...

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

and pastries, with the statement "Celebrating New Year’s the 1-percenter way!

Let them eat cake "Let them eat cake" is the traditional translation of the French phrase "'", said to have been spoken in the 17th or 18th century by "a great princess" upon being told that the peasants had no bread. The French phrase mentions brioche, a bread ...

:-)." Rossi was roundly criticized by other Twitter users in the replies to his tweet, and has since deleted it and apologized, claiming the tweet was "satire."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Rocco 1962 births Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian political consultants Living people Ontario municipal politicians Politicians from Toronto Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidates in Ontario provincial elections Upper Canada College alumni Liberal Party of Canada politicians