CoBank presents its 2012 Northeast Customer Meeting

In conjunction with the Northeast Cooperative Council

Challenge and Opportunity for Rural America

An Outstanding Program

CoBank’s 2012 Northeast Customer Meeting will feature presentations from leading experts on the economy and energy policy. Our program is designed to give directors and managers valuable knowledge, insight and information they can use every day in both their business and personal lives.

Speakers

Bob Engel ~ President & Chief Executive Officer, CoBank
John Hofmeister ~ Former President of Shell oil company
Marci Rossell ~ Former Chief Economist, CNBC

What you will learn

• Key trends and dynamics that are shaping the U.S. and global economies
• Insights into the nation’s energy future from a leading expert
• Updates on CoBank’s business and financial performance

Who will benefit

We welcome managers and directors of all CoBank customer and partner organizations, including:

• Agricultural cooperatives and other agribusiness enterprises
• Rural electric cooperatives
• Rural water companies
• Rural communications service providers
• Farm Credit System banks and associations
• Participants in the NECC Leaders Forum and Annual Meeting

Additional Information

We are pleased to hold this meeting in conjunction with the Northeast Cooperative Council (NECC) Leaders Forum and Annual Meeting. Please view the agenda to see complete agendas for both meetings.

Registration for both the CoBank and NECC meetings is through the NECC. There is no charge to attend CoBank’s conference segment beyond your travel and hotel expenses; however, registration fees are required to attend the NECC meeting. Please click on the registration tab to access their online registration site.

Be sure to make your hotel reservation as soon as possible to ensure availability. Please click on the hotel tab for additional information on making your hotel reservation.

For further information, contact CoBank’s Corporate Communications Division at 303-740-6456 or by email at corp.comm@cobank.com, or contact the NECC at 607-255-5464 or by email at cmt8@cornell.edu.

Dress code for this meeting is business casual. You may wish to wear a jacket for dinner, but ties are not required.

Registration

Because space is limited, we encourage invitees to register as soon as possible for the 2012 Northeast Customer Meeting. To register, please use the CoBank/NECC Online Registration Form.

There are no charges to attend CoBank’s meeting or meals beyond your travel and hotel expenses; however, registration fees are required to attend the NECC meeting. Please follow these instructions to register as a CoBank customer:

1. On the initial page, the registration system will ask you to “Please select how many you would like to register or if you are a CoBank registrant.” Be sure to select “CoBank Registrant” from the drop-down list.
2. You will be given the following three registration options – select which one is appropriate for your plans and fill in the appropriate number in the “Order” box.
   • CoBank Full Registration – for those who plan to attend all the NECC functions as well as the CoBank functions
   • CoBank No Cost Registration Without Dinner – for those who plan to attend the CoBank meeting only but not the Annual Banquet
   • CoBank No Cost Registration With Dinner – for those who will attend the CoBank meeting and the Annual Banquet
3. Click on “Continue” – after providing some basic information, you will be asked for a code. Please enter CoBankNE123 in this location.
4. You will then be asked to provide your personal information to complete the process.

If you have any questions, please contact CoBank’s Corporate Communications Department at 303-740-6456 or by email at corp.comm@cobank.com or the NECC at 607-255-5464 or by email at cmt8@cornell.edu for assistance.

Hotel

DoubleTree Hotel Syracuse
6301 State Route 298
Syracuse, NY 13057
800-222-TREE or 315-432-0200

The DoubleTree Hotel Syracuse is located at 6301 State Route 298, East Syracuse, NY 13057. 

To make your hotel reservation, call the DoubleTree Hotel Syracuse at 800-222-TREE or 315-432-0200. Mention your CoBank affiliation to receive the preferred room rate of $125. The number of rooms available at this rate is limited, so please make your reservation as soon as possible. After the reservation deadline of February 27, 2011 the group rate will no longer be available.

If you need to cancel your reservation please do so at least 24 hours prior to day of arrival and obtain a cancellation number to avoid cancellation charges.

Speakers

Our speaker program is designed to provide managers and directors from CoBank customer organization with valuable insight and information they can use in their business and personal lives. Bios of speakers for the 2012 Northeast Customer Meeting are listed below. Following the meeting, the speaker presentations that we have permission to distribute will also be available on this page.

Expand All

Bob Engel

President & Chief Executive Officer, CoBank

As CoBank’s president and chief executive officer, Bob Engel is responsible for implementing the bank’s strategic and business direction as set by the Board of Directors. Previously, he served as CoBank’s president and chief operating officer for six years. Mr. Engel is a member of CoBank’s Senior Leadership Team and the Management Executive Committee.

Prior to joining CoBank in 2000, Mr. Engel was chief banking officer at HSBC Bank USA in New York. He has 24 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.

Mr. Engel earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Niagara University in Niagara Falls, New York, where he was designated Magna Cum Laude and later received an honorary doctorate. He is a member of the board of directors for the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation (Vice Chairman) and Farm Credit Leasing (Chairman). Mr. Engel is also a member of the Farm Credit System Presidents Planning Committee (Chairman). In addition, he serves on the board of trustees for Regis University, the board of directors of New Ventures in Higher Education, Inc., the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership, Mile High United Way, Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association and as trustee emeritus at Niagara University. He also serves on the Executive Council of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. He is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

John Hofmeister

Former President of Shell oil company

John Hofmeister is the former president of Shell oil company, the Texas-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, one of the largest oil companies in the world. Shell has about 22,000 employees and approximately 25,000 branded gas stations in the United States. He also has held leadership roles at General Electric, Nortel and AlliedSignal.

After retiring from Shell in 2008, Mr. Hofmeister founded Citizens for Affordable Energy, a national not-for-profit organization that promotes sound U.S. energy policies and public education on energy issues. In addition, he is the author of Why We Hate the Oil Companies: Straight Talk from an Energy Insider.

Today, he is also chairman of the National Urban League and a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee. He has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science from Kansas State University.

Marci Rossell

Former Chief Economist, CNBC

Economist Marci Rossell has a unique ability to take complex financial issues and make them relevant to people’s lives, families and careers.

Ms. Rossell is best known for the time she spent in broadcast television as as chief economist for CNBC. She has also served as a corporate economist and investment spokesperson for Oppenheimer Funds, one of the nation’s largest mutual fund companies. She began her career as an economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Ms. Rossell earned a Ph.D. in economics from Southern Methodist University, where she was also named Young Alumni of the Year in 2002.

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