JAG Board Member John Engler is 2015 Association Executive of the Year

Association TRENDS announced John Engler as the TRENDS 2015 Association Executive of the Year.

Engler is president of the Business Roundtable, which represents CEOs of leading U.S. corporations. He also has been the chief staff executive at the National Association of Manufacturers and before that was a three-term governor of Michigan.

He will be honored at the annual TRENDS Salute to Association Excellence, Feb. 6 at the Capital Hilton in Washington. Also to be honored will be Andy Steggles, president of Higher Logic and the TRENDS Association Partner of the Year; the Leading Association Lobbyists; the Young & Aspiring Association Professionals; and the winners of the TRENDS All Media Contest.

“Gov. Engler is an example of the best that can be achieved when a top figure from the world of politics embraces the very different but no less challenging world of association leadership, and this honor is endorsed by his board members, colleagues and members at all three of the major associations that he has led. His work and leadership over the years at the National Governors Association and the National Association of Manufacturers, as well as his current leadership of the Business Roundtable make him a worthy successor to the association leaders who have been honored since James Low was first recognized as TRENDS Association Executive of the Year in 1980,” TRENDS publisher Joel Poznansky said.

Engler joined the Business Roundtable in 2011, where he promotes policies to achieve more robust economic growth and hiring. Landmark reports produced by the Business Roundtable since Engler assumed leadership include “Taking Action for America: A CEO Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth” (2012), “It’s Time to Act for America’s Future” (2013), and “Invested in America: A Growth Agenda for the U.S. Economy” (2014).
 
Previously Engler served as CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers for six years, and from 2003 to 2004 he was government solutions VP for North America at Electronic Data Systems.

Earlier he was a three-term governor of Michigan, from 1991 to 2003. During his tenure, he signed 32 tax cuts into law – saving Michigan taxpayers some $32 billion – and helped create more than 800,000 new jobs, taking the state’s unemployment rate to a record low. Syndicated columnist David Broder summarized Engler’s service as governor as a “model of strong, executive leadership.”

Engler was the 2001-02 chairman of the National Governors Association, and his initiative was “State Leadership in the 21st Century.”



Before he was elected governor, he served for 20 years in the Michigan legislature, including seven years as state Senate majority leader. Elected in 1970, Engler was the youngest person elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives. In 1990, he became the first sitting legislator elected Michigan governor in more than 100 years.



Engler serves on the boards of Universal Forest Products, K12 Inc., and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The American Academy of Arts and Science named him a member of the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences.  He also serves on the National Board of Directors of Jobs for America’s Graduates.

He earned a B.S. in agricultural economics at Michigan State, and a J.D. at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He and his wife, Michelle, are parents of triplet daughters Margaret, Hannah and Madeleine.