A True Leader: Harris Rosen

Mention the name Harris Rosen, and nothing but fond memories pour in. “I had the privilege of being guided by him for almost 34 years,” says Jennifer Rice-Palmer, vice president of guest contact at Rosen Hotels & Resorts and one of our 2025 Women of the Year honorees. “He taught me so much about leadership—how to hold others accountable, but also how to forgive and move forward. I truly miss him every day, and his lessons continue to inspire me.” 

The legendary hotelier and philanthropist died in November 2024, and is known as much for his work in the community as the empire he built from the ground up. He created the Tangelo Park and Parramore programs to provide a free preschool education for every 2-, 3- and 4-year-old child in those underserved communities. He called it a “pathway to success,” to not only do well, but to also thrive in high school and, then college.

“All of our preschool graduates know that, upon graduating from high school, a full four-year state college, community college or vocational school scholarship is waiting for them, providing them with tuition, room & board and books,” he stated in his welcome letter of the 2024 Rosen Reveal. “Getting a college degree is no longer a dream for them, and they can do it while graduating debt-free. I tell people this all the time, that the two best days of my year are the two days I go to our preschools’ graduation ceremonies … I always get such a wonderful warm feeling in my heart realizing that, in some small way, I have made a difference in their lives. We have been doing it for so long that some of our initial college graduates have even come back to their old neighborhoods and have provided services in their specialized fields free of charge.”

An avid swimmer, Rosen would regularly swim 45 laps, or 1.25 miles, at the Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center. But even more remarkable is that he saved it from demolition twice: once in 1992, when the privately-held center was shut down by the mortgage holder and again when closure after the pandemic loomed. Today, its training pool offers water safety training classes and swimming lessons, and expansion is in the works.

Another of Rosen’s extraordinary accomplishments is the introduction of RosenCare, a self-insured healthcare plan that came about by accident, when Rosen was trying to renegotiate health insurance costs for his employees. When he didn’t receive the rate decrease he was looking for (the premiums actually increased), he decided to go it alone, and as a result dramatically cut costs, not only giving his employees greater access to healthcare, but to a wider variety of benefits.

It’s all part of the “Rosen Difference,” the principle that guided Rosen in his 50 years as president and COO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts.

“We are different,” Rosen famously said. “We do things differently than others. That is not to say that one way is right or better, but we do things our way because we always try to do the right thing.”