WASHINGTON, D.C.-The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) elected new leadership to champion U.S. manufacturing and advocate pro-growth policies. The NAM Board of Directors elected MeadWestvaco Corp. Chairman and CEO John A. Luke Jr. as 2004-05 NAM Chairman and former governor of Michigan John Engler as the association's first new president since 1990. Engler succeeds Jerry Jasinowski who is retiring after 15 years as chief of the nation's largest industrial trade association.
"Our first, long-term challenge is to ensure that policymakers and voters understand that manufacturing matters greatly to our future as a nation. Very simply, we are in the early stage of a new world order, marked by global markets, fierce competition and serious trade policy challenges," Luke said at a September 30 news conference. "My central message for the next 12 months will be our nation's pressing need to meet the challenges of unprecedented global competition."