Robert Agbede

Chairman and CEO
Chester Group and Chester LNG LLC

Robert O. Agbede is the Chairman and CEO of Chester Group Inc., a holding company for technology, engineering, and energy related investments and also the former CEO and owner of Chester Engineers, which was, prior to its merger with Hatch Associates in 2017, the largest African–American–owned engineering, water/wastewater treatment, energy, and environmental engineering firm in the United States.

Mr. Agbede is also the Chairman and CEO of Chester LNG, LLC, a subsidiary of the Chester Group, which designs and owns several Intellectual Properties on micro-LNG systems for use as virtual pipelines to deliver natural gas to remote locations or as standalones for off the grid power generation or fueling. He is the owner and chairman of Sigma Paint Nigeria ltd., a coating manufacturing and marketing company in partnership with Pittsburgh, USA-based PPG Industries.

Mr. Agbede was also the former Vice Chairman of Hatch USA, a global engineering and business consulting company. In addition, Mr. Agbede was a founder and co-owner of Orbital Solutions, a Pittsburgh based leadership development, coaching, diversity consulting and training organization. He and his companies are holders of several U.S. patents.

Mr. Agbede is a member of the CNX (NYSE: CNX) Board of Director, where he currently serves as a member of the Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance, and Environmental, Safety, and Corporate Responsibility committees.

Mr. Agbede is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pittsburgh and he is the Chairman of the Board of Visitors of its Swanson School of Engineering. In 2000, he was inducted into the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering Hall of Fame. He is the recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Alumnus award of the Swanson School of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The Robert O. Agbede Scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh benefits African American students pursuing engineering degrees. Also, at the University of Pittsburgh, the Robert O. Agbede Annual Diversity Award encourages recruitment and retention of African American faculty and students. In addition, The Chester Group's endowments and scholarships at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, presently valued at over $4 million, support African American student enrollment and retention primarily in Engineering and Sciences. Mr. Agbede is a University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering graduate and holds a Bachelors and Master’s Degrees in Mining Engineering.

Current Board Memberships

• Member, Board of Directors CNX (NYSE:CNX)
• Chairman of SKN – PPG Paint Nigeria, Limited. (a partnership with PPG Industries, a fortune 500 company)
• Member, Board of Trustees, University of Pittsburgh
• Chair of the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering Board of Visitors
• Member U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Chairman Environment & Agriculture Committee and Member Energy Committee
• Chairman, Sister Cities Association of Pittsburgh+

Noted Past Appointments

• Former Board member, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development for 15 years
• Former Member of National Coal Council, a Federal Advisory Council to the Secretary of Energy for over 20 years
• Former Board member UPMC, a $22 billion Health Care organization
• Former Board member, The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland/Pittsburgh Branch, where he later served as Chairman of the Board of the Pittsburgh branch
• Former Member, Board of Trustees, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
• Former Board member, Vibrant Pittsburgh
• Founding member and former Chair of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania Board for seven years
• Former member of the Governor of Pennsylvania Advisory Commission on African American Affairs to advise the Governor on matters pertinent to African Americans in the commonwealth
• Former Board Member of the Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority
• Former Board of Trustees of LaRoche University, Pittsburgh
• Former Board Member of the Fox Chapel Water Authority