Former head of Siemens USA named national/global trustee at YSU
Mahoning Valley native Eric A. Spiegel, past president and chief executive of Siemens USA, has been named the first national/global trustee at Youngstown State University.
“We are thrilled to have Mr. Spiegel bring his unique skills, expertise and many years of experience to our board and YSU,” said Dee Crawford, chair of the YSU Board of Trustees. “We look forward to working with him on behalf of YSU, our students and the greater Youngstown community.”
Members of the YSU Board of Trustees are appointed by the governor for nine-year terms. In December 2017, the board agreed to amend its bylaws to create the position of national/global trustee. National/global trustees are appointed by the board on the basis of success in their field, state or national prominence, ability to advocate for higher education, and their ability to offer advice to the board and university president. They are appointed to three-year terms and do not have voting privileges.
“Mr. Spiegel has more than 35 years of experience successfully leading complex global organizations; we look forward to his insight, perspective and vision as we continue our work to ensure the success of our students,” YSU President Jim Tressel said.
Spiegel is a native of Poland, Ohio, and graduate of Poland Seminary High School. In 2013, he was on campus to announce an in-kind grant for $440 million in state-of-the-art product lifecycle management software and training from Siemens to YSU’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. He received an honorary doctorate of Business Administration from YSU in May 2015, serving as the keynote speaker at spring commencement.
He is currently special advisor to General Atlantic in New York, chair of CLEAResult in Austin, Texas, director of Dover Corp. in Chicago, and director of Liberty Mutual Insurance in Boston. He previously was president and chief executive of Siemens USA, the largest subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse conglomerate in electronics and electrical engineering with nearly 400,000 employees in 190 countries. Prior to Siemens, he served in key global leadership roles at Booz Allen Hamilton and Booz & Co., a global leader for energy, chemicals and power practice.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University and a master’s of Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He also is chair of the Ford’s Theatre Society, director of President Lincoln’s Cottage and a director at Rollins College.