Jason Robertson

Jason Robertson knows what it takes to be a champion both on and off the field. Jason, who grew up in a single-parent home on the Southside of Chicago, was drafted directly out of high school as the second pick for the New York Yankees in 1989.  He enjoyed an 8-year career in professional baseball before starting & building Planned Packaging of Illinois Corporation - one of the nation's top minority business enterprises.

A successful entrepreneur, proud father and dedicated civic leader, Robertson is a passionate social issues advocate.  He regularly weighs in on matters of economic justice, personal responsibility, minority business development, disparities in professional sports, and fatherhood.  In his collegiate and corporate presentations, Jason takes a tell-it-like-it-is approach to outlining what it takes to be a all-star performer in business and life with audiences around the country.

Some of his most popular presentation topics include:

• Success: Winning the NY Yankee Way
• Men of Faith in the Marketplace
• Rookie Year: How to Survive & Thrive as an Entrepreneur
• HIStory: The Test & Trials of Black Men in America
• A League of Their Own: The Lessons & Legacy of Blacks in Baseball
• MAN UP: Respect, Responsibility, Resilience
• Drama Free: Commitment-Worthy Relationships
• Battle of the Sexes: Gender Differences in Communication
• The State of the BrotherhoodTM

Once his professional baseball career ended, Jason (who only had a high school diploma) had to figure out how survive in the cut-throat world of business.  After working a variety of miscellaneous jobs, he learned about finance and business development through the school of hard-knocks.  Realizing the importance of ownership, he launched his packaging company with one person, one computer, and one goal in mind - growth.  Now as one of a very small handful of minorities in the packaging industry, PPOIC is multi-million dollar, global company, which has been recognized as a top minority business enterprise by DiversityBusiness.com and the National Minority Business Development Counsel.

A strong believer in minority enterprise, Jason owns and operates a number of other business initiatives in real estate, sports marketing, telecommunications.   Named one of ESSENCE Magazine's "Do Right Men" for their most eligible bachelors - Jason has appeared on variety of media outlets including ABC, NBC, CBS, AOL, and Radio One.  Jason, who resides in Chicago and Atlanta, coaches youth-travel baseball and lists his proudest accomplishment as being a role model for his three children.