Frank Discussions with Josh Rodriguez

Written By: Katie Ta

In our latest installment of Frank Discussions, Frank chats with Josh Rodriguez, Army veteran and Private Wealth Advisor at Goldman Sachs. Josh reflects on his military service and his time at Foster and how both experiences have informed his journey as a leader. They address the challenges of leadership in a time of crisis and how making tough decisions on the ground during deployment has translated to making tough decisions in the corporate world. Frank and Josh also discuss the recent withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and how Josh was involved in helping get his interpreter out of the country. You can listen to this podcast here.

Josh Rodriguez

Private Wealth Management, Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Joshua Rodriguez is a West Point graduate, a Foster MBA, and leads an investment management team based out of Seattle for Goldman Sachs. He’s very active in the veteran/active military community and has a passion for helping folks who understand that “no one gets anywhere on their own.” He regularly speaks at the local and national level on Ethics and Resilience to audiences that have included the National Conference on Ethics in America, The United States Military Academy, Global Business Forum, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, the University of Washington Husky Football Team’s Leadership Council, and the Dallas Cowboys. He currently serves on the boards of the Seattle Opera, Seattle Opera Foundation, and the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.

Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Josh spent 8 years as a reconnaissance officer in the U.S. Army starting out as an infantry reconnaissance platoon leader in Eastern Afghanistan in 2008–2009. He deployed a second time in 2012–2013 and his last role was as a Cavalry Troop Commander leading 100+ Scouts before transitioning off active duty and into the Reserve where he continues to serve. While on active duty, Josh was awarded 3x Bronze Stars, 1 of which was for valorous actions in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Eastern Afghanistan defending against a numerically superior force of 80+ Taliban with 9 US Soldiers. As a Reservist, Major Rodriguez is an instructor at the University of Washington’s ROTC Program.

Since transitioning, Josh has translated his career in the Army to excel in finance providing financial planning advice, education, and investment management expertise to ultra-high net worth family groups, foundations, and endowments.

Josh married his high school sweetheart who works as the Senior Communications Manager at Icertis. They live east of Seattle and have three daughters.

If you wish to suggest an executive, company, or question for future Frank Discussions, please share your thoughts at fostdean@uw.edu.

Originally published at https://blog.foster.uw.edu on November 4, 2021.