Hall Delano Roosevelt was born in Los Angeles, California, and is the grandson of President Franklin Delano and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. He is also the direct descendant of President Theodore Roosevelt. He attended the International School in Geneva Switzerland; Brentwood Military Academy, California; Pacific Palisades High School; and Woodbury University, Los Angeles, California. Del’s father was James Roosevelt, FDR’s first-born son. Del lived on the East Coast when James served as a Congressman for 6 terms from California’s 26th District, then in Europe when his father was the United Nations Ambassador to Geneva.
Prior to joining the Business Council, Del served as the Director of New Business Development for the Reza Investment Group based in Saudi Arabia. The Reza Investment Company is wholly owned by the Alireza family, one of the oldest and respected trading families in Saudi Arabia. Reza Investment has successfully developed market-leading positions in trading, manufacturing and service industries throughout Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC). Del is a joint founder of Friends of Saudi Arabia, a cultural awareness program.
Del’s previous involvement also includes:
- Board Member, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
- Chairman, Middle East Council of American Chambers of Commerce
- Executive Board Member, American Mission Hospital, Bahrain
- First Vice President, Bahrain American Chamber of Commerce
- Board Member, FDR Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation
- Board Member, American Business Association, Easter Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
He also served as the head of Roosevelt Consulting Inc., an international consulting company focusing on assisting organizations and private investors in structuring cross- border transactions, technology transfers, and direct investments globally with focus on the Middle East.
Del was Chairman and Member of the Long Beach Community Development Advisory Committee, which allocates the $10 million plus of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants for city economic improvement projects. He also chaired the Solid Waste Management Commission, where he helped to start the City’s curbside city-wide recycling program. Elected as the City’s Fourth District Councilmember, Del’s interest in environmental issues prompted him to recommend that the City Council establish a Sustainable Development Board – a recommendation that has been implemented by the Environmental Task Force. As a member of the City Council, Del authored the City’s redistricting plan in 1996. He was appointed as Chair of the Federal Legislation and Environmental Affairs Committee which made him responsible to develop the City’s legislative agenda and required him to spend a great deal of time advocating in Washington D.C. and Sacramento, California. He also served as Vice-Chair of the Public Safety Committee and on the Joint Powers Authority with the City of Signal Hill, and participated in the City’s Collaborative Conversations Program with the Long Beach Unified School District. Based on experience gained in his work at Southern California Edison, working in Energy Conservation and Load Management as a Major Account Executive for ten years, Del took a leading position for the City Council when the City considered becoming its own electrical municipality and severing ties with Southern California Edison as a result of an opportunity for the city to renegotiate its franchise fees contract
Del worked for the Boeing Sea Launch Program as Director of Governmental Relations, which took him on extensive trips to the South Pacific.