Rob Engstrom

Senior Vice President, Political Affairs & Federation Relations and National Political Director, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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Rob Engstrom is senior vice president of the Political Affairs and Federation Relations Division and the national political director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In these capacities, he is responsible for directing the Chamber’s national political, grassroots, and election-related activities, as well as its advocacy programs, including the Free Enterprise Network and Friends of the U.S. Chamber.

In the 2010 election cycle, Engstrom directed the day-to-day operations in what was the Chamber’s largest-ever voter education campaign. That year, the Chamber invested significant resources in both House and Senate races in key states and ran its largest and most aggressive issue campaign to date. Of the 276 Chamber-endorsed candidates, 86% were elected.

Engstrom manages all member activities for the Chamber’s Federation, which includes thousands of state, local, and metro chambers of commerce and hundreds of trade and professional associations. He oversees the Association Committee of 100, the most prestigious group of association CEOs and executives in the country; the Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100, an elite group of the nation’s leading chamber CEOs; and the Institute for Organization Management, the nation’s premier nonprofit executive training program.

Previously, Engstrom served as senior vice president of Political and State Affairs for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). He directed all state-level voter education, grassroots, and advocacy efforts. He was the chief liaison between ILR and state chambers of commerce. During his five years at ILR, he managed budgets totaling nearly $70 million.

Before joining the Chamber, Engstrom served as director of the Division of Political Education at the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 1998 to 2002, including a five-week stint on the Florida recount team for then-President-elect George W. Bush. Prior to the RNC, he worked with former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s campaign in Roswell, Georgia.

Engstrom serves on the board of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, a national association serving individuals involved in the management of chambers of all sizes.

In 2009, Engstrom was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine. Past rising stars include David Axelrod, James Carville, Rahm Emanuel, Ed Gillespie, Laura Ingraham, and George Stephanopoulos.

Engstrom is from Atlanta, Georgia, and is a graduate of Baylor University in Texas.