Keith W. Eckel is a board member of Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NFS), a part of Nationwide, a $161 billion diversified financial services organization based in Columbus, Ohio. NFS is the publicly traded holding company for Nationwide's long-term savings operation. He also serves on the board Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, the parent company of the Nationwide organization. He was first elected to the board in 1996 and has served as board chairman of since April 2008. He also serves on the boards of other Nationwide companies including Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. Mr. Eckel is former board chairman of Gartmore Global Asset Management Trust and Allied Group, Inc.
Mr. Eckel is owner of Fred W. Eckel Sons and president of Eckel Farms, Inc. in northeast Pennsylvania. He received the Master Farmer award from Penn State University in 1982.
Mr. Eckel serves on the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, a board that advises the U.S. Agency for International Development on agricultural priorities and issues. He is a trustee of Pennsylvania State University, board member of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association, and former member of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board. He is a former president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, a position he held for 15 years, and the Lackawanna County Cooperative Extension Association. He has served as a board member and executive committee member of the American Farm Bureau Federation and is a former vice president of the Pennsylvania Council of Cooperative Extension Associations.
Born in Scranton, PA, Mr. Eckel is a graduate of Newton-Ransom High School in Clarks Summit, PA. He attended Keystone Junior College, Dickinson College and Penn State University. Mr. Eckel is a member and past lay leader of Bethel United Methodist Church. |