CoBank's Robert Engel named to Niagara University board of trustees

Robert B. Engel, president and chief executive officer of CoBank, has been named to the board of trustees of Niagara University. His election was announced by the Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., president of the university.

Engel graduated magna cum laude from Niagara University in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in accounting, and was presented with an honorary doctorate in 2006. He previously served an eight-year term on the university's board of trustees from 1999 to 2007, and was named trustee emeritus in gratitude for his service.

As CoBank's president and CEO, Engel is responsible for implementing the bank's strategic and business direction. He previously served as CoBank's president and chief operating officer for six years, and is currently a member of CoBank's management executive committee and the senior leadership team.

Prior to joining CoBank in 2000, Engel was chief banking officer at HSBC Bank USA in New York. He has more than 25 years of banking experience, primarily with HSBC Bank USA, and eight years of accounting experience, including an agribusiness specialization, with the firms of KPMG and Deloitte & Touche. During his 14-year tenure at HSBC, he served in a variety of management and credit positions, including chief credit officer, before being named chief banking officer.

In addition to Niagara, Engel is a board member for the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corp., and Farm Credit Leasing (where he serves as chairman), Regis University, New Ventures in Higher Education Inc., and the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership. He also serves as chairman of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.

Engel is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, presented annually by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations to American citizens who have distinguished themselves within their own ethnic groups while exemplifying the values of the American way of life.

Engel and his wife, Lynda, reside in Castle Rock, Colo.