As NAM president, Engler is committed to educating the public and policymakers that manufacturing is critical to our future as a nation.  Under his leadership, the NAM Campaign for Growth and Manufacturing Renewal will advocate policies that seek to level the international playing field and reduce the cost of doing business at home, with special attention to high health care and litigation costs. The Campaign will continue to emphasize that manufacturers are driving innovation and productivity growth in the economy, providing the bulk of U.S. exports and offering rewarding careers for highly-skilled workers. 

Engler has observed that excellent U.S. jobs often go unfilled because too many young people do not have the basic math, science and communications skills needed to succeed in modern manufacturing.  He sees the looming shortage of skilled manufacturing employees as a real and growing threat to American competitiveness in the 21st century’s high-tech global economy.  Engler believes better educating the next generation of manufacturing workers is imperative.  He is adamant that we must make innovation and quality as central to our educational system as it is to U.S. manufacturing.

The former three-term Michigan Governor brings to the NAM a lifelong commitment to reducing the size of government as a means to boosting economic growth and job creation.  Engler insists that lower taxes on businesses and individuals, and reasonable and scientifically-based regulation, will create more wealth, improve standards of living for all income groups and best sustain America’s vital middle class.

As Governor, Engler inherited a $1.8 billion state budget deficit and turned it into a $1.2 billion surplus. He signed 32 tax cuts into law -- saving Michigan taxpayers some $32 billion – and helped create more than 800,000 new jobs during his tenure, taking Michigan’s unemployment rate to its lowest level ever.  Engler’s environmental record in Michigan included creation of the Department of Environmental Quality, strengthening the Department of Natural Resources and elevating to cabinet level status the Office of the Great Lakes.

The top priority of Engler’s administration was improving education, with a focus on high standards, more accountability and strengthened local control to help student test scores climb to record highs.  During his tenure, more than 180 charter schools were set up and every Michigan child received a foundation grant to the school of his or her choice. 

Prior to becoming Michigan’s 46th Governor in 1991, Engler had served for 20 years in the State legislature, including seven years as State Senate Majority Leader.  He was the youngest person ever elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives.

Born in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, in 1948, Engler graduated from Michigan State University and later earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing.  He serves on the boards of Northwest Airlines, Universal Forest Products and is a past chairman of the National Governors’ Association.  He and his wife Michelle are parents of triplet daughters born in 1994 -- Margaret, Hannah and Madeleine.