Ten Refugees, One Journey: Roman Martinez IV

Roman Martinez (Photo: Jim Gaffey)

Roman Martinez is Bob’s Martinez’s older brother, by five years. When Castro’s communist regime began indoctrinating school children in Cuba, his parents decided to flee the island nation – by car, taking the Havana ferry to Key West, shortly before it was shut down

After the family arrived in Florida, Martinez went to boarding school, later graduated from Boston College, and earned an MBA from the Wharton School at Penn.

In 1978 he became a partner at Lehman Brothers and enjoyed a successful 31-year career.

Now a private investor, he serves on the boards of several large corporations, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations

He joined the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Board of Directors in 1996, chaired the Audit and Finance Committees, and is now an IRC Overseer and a member of the IRC Board’s Security Committee.

Read more about Roman Martinez's refugee journey >>

Meet the other distinguished refugees honored at the IRC's 2010 Freedom Award Dinner in New York:

Andrew S. Grove  l  Max Frankel  l  Jurate Kazickas  l  George Sarlo  l 
Roberto Martinez  l  Thong Nguyen  l  Trinh Doan  l  Eskinder Negash  l Alek Wek