Roger Nober is a former C-suite executive and board member with deep expertise in corporate governance, regulatory strategy, and enterprise risk oversight. As Executive Vice President of Law & Corporate Affairs and Chief Legal Officer of BNSF Railway, a Berkshire Hathaway company and one of North America’s largest freight rail networks, he led legal and regulatory strategy for a multibillion-dollar organization central to the U.S. supply chain and concurrently served on the Board of BNSF Railway LLC. He also held senior leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Transportation and served as Chairman of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. Nober brings an uncommon combination of large-scale corporate leadership and federal regulatory experience, equipping him to mentor senior leaders navigating complex governance, public policy, and stakeholder challenges.

Nober served as Executive Vice President, Law & Corporate Affairs and Chief Legal Officer of BNSF Railway. In this capacity, he was responsible for legal affairs, regulatory engagement, environmental matters, compliance, corporate communications, and state government relations across a 28-state operating footprint. He guided the company through evolving federal regulatory requirements, significant litigation exposure, environmental policy shifts, and major infrastructure investment cycles. His concurrent service on the Board of BNSF Railway LLC further strengthened his governance perspective and fiduciary experience.

Earlier, Nober served as Chairman of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, the independent federal agency overseeing economic regulation of the nation’s freight railroads. Nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he led the agency during a period of significant industry and regulatory evolution, presiding over major rate, service, and merger matters that influenced the structure of the U.S. freight system.

He also served as Counselor to the Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation, advising on national transportation policy. Prior to that, he held senior roles with the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Chief Counsel, where he helped shape major surface transportation legislation and led congressional oversight of federal transportation agencies.

Previously, he was Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, advising clients on transportation law and federal regulatory matters. Nober began his legal career as an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and clerked in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Roger Nober earned his Bachelor’s degree from Haverford College and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Outside of his corporate career, Nober serves as a board member of the Eno Center for Transportation and the Washington Legal Foundation, sits on the advisory board of the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University, and is a member of the Business Advisory Council at Northwestern University Transportation Center. He also serves as Professor of Practice at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration and as Professorial Lecturer in Law at The George Washington University Law School. He previously led the GW Regulatory Studies Center and continues as an Affiliated Scholar.

Nober and his wife reside in Washington, D.C. They are the parents of three grown children and share their home with their dog, Zoe. Originally from New England, he and his wife enjoy fishing and clamming on Cape Cod. Nober maintains an active lifestyle, appreciates spending time in nature, completing home projects, listening to the Beatles, and western railroad history.