Obituaries 12/20/2023
Steven Schlossstein, age 82, of Princeton, NJ, passed away December 2. He is survived by his wife, two children and their spouses, two grandchildren, and two cats.
He was a resident of Princeton for more than 30 years. He was an internationally acclaimed author, a former executive with J. P. Morgan, and a past strategy consultant with extensive experience in global markets, trend analysis, and strategic planning. His particular professional expertise was in the Far East business and commercial markets.
He was an accomplished author, publishing a number of books and screenplays. His earlier works focused on non-fiction surrounding his experience in Asia, including Trade War, an American Library Association “Best Business Book” of 1984 and a bestseller in the Japanese edition (1985). His fictional titles spanned a number of scenarios including a three-book detective series, a satire about aging, and an essay anthology written entirely in Japanese. He also contributed columns and articles to various periodicals over the years in both local and major markets.
His international experience led to career opportunities with J.P. Morgan, taking him to Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Dusseldorf before returning to the United States in their New York office where he continued his work involving Japan and East Asian business.
After 1982, as founder and president of his Princeton-based strategy consulting firm, SBS Associates, he designed, negotiated, and implemented strategic assignments for American corporations in the Far East. In his role as strategy consultant, Steve’s last major client was the Sarnoff Corporation of Princeton, where he contributed to a wide range of new applications for East Asian corporate clients in the fields of solid-state technologies, telecommunications, computing, information technology, and advanced video display systems.
Steve is a former member of the Princeton Regional School Board; a past candidate for the New Jersey State Legislature; a former board member of the Advisory Council of the Department of East Asian Studies, Princeton University; a past board member of the Princeton Public Library Foundation; a former fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute of Philadelphia; a benefactor and former board member of the Mercer Street Friends Center in Trenton; a former Leadership Council member of the Princeton Medical Center Foundation; a benefactor of Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children, New York; and a past benefactor of the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI).
Steve enjoyed an active lifestyle of hiking, golf, and his lifelong passion, tennis, which he played from boyhood into his seventies. He spoke and read fluent Japanese, German, and French.
Services will be held privately. Donations to Mercer Street Friends Center, Princeton Public Library, or SAVE — A Friend to Homeless Animals may be made in his name as an alternative to flowers.