Two executives join Iowa Business Council

James Israel (left), president of John Deere Financial, and  Steven Leath, president of Iowa State University, have accepted invitations to join the Iowa Business Council (IBC). The council’s membership consists of the top executives of 20 of Iowa’s largest employers, the state’s three public universities, and the Iowa Bankers Association. “The council has gained two excellent leaders with these new members,” said Stan Askren, IBC chair and chairman, president and CEO of HNI Corp. in Muscatine. Israel, a native of Highland Park, Ill., became president of John Deere Financial in 2006. He earned both his undergraduate degree in finance and an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa.  Leath, the 15th president of Iowa State, was raised in St. Paul, Minn. He previously served at three North Carolina universities in teaching, research and economic development posts. 

 

James Israel (left), president of John Deere Financial, and  Steven Leath, president of Iowa State University, have accepted invitations to join the Iowa Business Council (IBC). The council’s membership consists of the top executives of 20 of Iowa’s largest employers, the state’s three public universities, and the Iowa Bankers Association. “The council has gained two excellent leaders with these new members,” said Stan Askren, IBC chair and chairman, president and CEO of HNI Corp. in Muscatine. Israel, a native of Highland Park, Ill., became president of John Deere Financial in 2006. He earned both his undergraduate degree in finance and an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa.  Leath, the 15th president of Iowa State, was raised in St. Paul, Minn. He previously served at three North Carolina universities in teaching, research and economic development posts.