Forward Focus

Ed Boyle, Vice President Engineering, Norfolk Southern (NS Photograph)

2024 READERS' MOST INFLUENTIAL LEADERS, RAILWAY AGE MAY 2024 ISSUE: Railway Age’s 2024 subscriber-selected honorees all embody an entrepreneurial spirit anchored in a commitment to service, safety and sustainability.

Railway Age’s fifth annual Readers’ Most Influential Leaders online poll garnered nominations for many active (non-retired) people from all areas of the North American railway industry. We are pleased to present the top 10 nominees, plus three Honorable Mentions. 

Casey Albright
Senior Vice President, Network Operations and Service Design, CSX

At CSX, Casey Albright is Senior Vice President Network Operations and Service Design, focused on optimizing resource planning to ensure fluid traffic flow across the CSX network. By developing innovative service plans that enhance performance and meet customer requirements, Albright drives operational excellence within CSX. Albright joined CSX in 1998 as a dispatcher, and throughout his CSX career has held positions of increasing responsibility. Formerly Vice President of Service Design, Albright has served in leadership positions within CSX’s service planning, locomotive management and network operations functions. He also served as the Terminal Superintendent and Superintendent of Train Operations on CSX’s Jacksonville and Nashville divisions, and as terminal superintendent in Louisville, Ky. Albright holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He also completed the Executive Development Program at Harvard Business School in 2016.

Ed Boyle 
Vice President Engineering, Norfolk Southern 

Ed Boyle was appointed Vice President-Engineering at Norfolk Southern on May 1, 2019. Boyle began his career with NS in March 1994 as a Management Trainee after earning a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. He has worked in multiple Engineering and Operations positions with increasing responsibility throughout his 30-plus years of railroading, including Track Supervisor, Assistant Division Engineer, Division Engineer, Chief Engineer, Assistant General Manager-Transportation, AVP Communications & Signals, and AVP Maintenance of Way & Structures prior to his current role. Boyle leads the NS Engineering team, which is responsible for inspecting, maintaining, constructing and improving the 28,000-plus track-mile infrastructure network to ensure safe and reliable operations throughout NS’ 22-state network. The 5,000-plus NS Engineering team members come from Maintenance of Way & Structures, Program Maintenance, Communications & Signals, Bridges & Structures, Design & Construction, and Engineering Planning & Technology. The NS Engineering Department works together and succeeds as one team performing approximately $1 billion in capital infrastructure improvements annually to provide a strong foundation for safe and reliable service to its customers. Boyle is a member of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association and recently completed his term on the AREMA Board of Governors. He leads the NACE (North American Chief Engineers) group, is a member of the Association of American Railroads Research Committee and serves on the Penn State Altoona RTE (Rail Transportation Engineering) Advisory Board. 

Percy Fields 
President and General Manager, The Belt Railway Company of Chicago

As President, Percy Fields is responsible for all aspects of management at The Belt Railway Company of Chicago. Fields, who followed his father into the railroad industry, started his present role after working previously for the BRC as General Manager. He worked 20 years for Union Pacific, the first five as a conductor and the rest in management, including several progressing roles in field operations, one year as Northern Region Superintendent of Dispatching, two years in Premium Operations, and two years running the Alton & Southern Railway Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of UP, as General Manager. Fields has a saying that he often uses to keep everyone focused on continuous improvement, “The only thing guaranteed to stay the same, is that things will change.” That mantra gives his team the confidence to try new things and to keep evolving. From a safety perspective, Fields conducted a 10-year comprehensive review of BRC safety incidents and injuries to establish a more predictive and proactive safety program. In addition, to implement the trends illustrated by this data, Fields established a dedicated safety department at the BRC. From an employee relations standpoint, Fields directed his team to negotiate paid sick day agreements with all the labor unions representing BRC employees, a process that is currently ongoing, with three of 12 unions already ratifying agreements. Under Fields’ supervision, BRC hired its first ever all-female conductor class of nine employees, illustrating his support for enhanced diversity on the BRC team. Fields earned an MBA from Benedictine University in 2013, becoming the first person in his family to earn a master’s degree. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Traffic Club of Chicago. Away from work, Fields enjoys time with his family and supporting his children in their extracurricular activities, including music and sports.

Alan Fisher
Group Vice President, Logistics, Analytics and Digital Mine, Wabtec Digital Intelligence

Alan Fisher is Group Vice President, Logistics, Analytics and Digital Mine for Wabtec’s Digital Intelligence business segment. He is a seasoned professional who began his career as a computer engineer. Before joining Wabtec in 2021, he spent 21 years at Union Pacific, where he held various executive positions focusing on the intersection of technology and railroad operations and was accountable for UP’s technology subsidiary, PS Technology. Under his guidance, Wabtec has achieved significant milestones. Alan led the development of KinetiX Inspection Technologies and is accountable for the company’s Transportation Management System (TMS), essential for short line operations and railroads in Mexico. He also is driving growth for Wabtec’s Digital Intelligence business. In 2023, Alan led the Digital Mine team to record revenue, orders and profitability through the launch of innovative collision avoidance technology. Additionally, he has aided in the growth of port visibility products such as Wabtec’s Port Optimizer™.

Matt Garland 
Vice President Transportation, BNSF 

Matt Garland was appointed Vice President Transportation in 2020, leading BNSF’s largest department that includes more than 16,000 employees, most of whom are operating and dispatching freight and passenger trains 24/7 across one of the largest freight rail networks in the world. Roughly 1,200 active trains operate each day delivering more than 10 million carloads per year across the BNSF rail network, which spans more than 35,000 route-miles through 28 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Garland joined BNSF as a Management Trainee in 2001. He was soon promoted to Trainmaster in Albuquerque, N.Mex., and later served in the same capacity in Richmond, Calif. In 2006, Garland was promoted to Terminal Manager in Bakersfield, Calif., and subsequently would serve as Assistant Superintendent at Barstow, Calif. Garland then moved to Fort Worth, Tex., to take a new position as Director of Service Excellence. He was then promoted to Superintendent of Corridor Operations in 2010. He also served as Terminal Superintendent in Seattle. In 2012, Garland moved to Kansas City, where he was named General Director of Transportation for BNSF’s Kansas Division. In 2015, he was promoted to General Manager for the Kansas Division. Garland moved back to Fort Worth in 2018 to serve as General Superintendent for BNSF’s Network Operations Center. Prior to his current role, Garland served as Vice President South Region, where he was responsible for operations across BNSF’s Southern Transcon. Garland holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Business Administration from Texas Christian University. He is a RailPAC chairman’s club and UNM Alumni Association member.

Marco Loureiro
Chief Operating Officer, RailPros

Marco Loureiro is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of RailPros, overseeing the main business units and providing strategic operational direction. With more than two decades of experience in the A&E industry, Loureiro is a recognized leader in rail and transit projects. He is skilled in team building, staff development, business planning, and strategy implementation. Loureiro holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in civil and structural engineering from the University of Iowa, along with an MBA in Finance from Saint Xavier University.

Justin Meyer
Senior Vice President Engineering and Mechanical, Canadian Pacific Kansas City

Justin Meyer joined CPKC (previously Canadian Pacific) in 1998 as an Engineer in Training successfully navigating his career to his current position as Senior Vice President Engineering and Mechanical. In 2021, Railway Track and Structures selected Justin as its Engineer of the Year due to his leadership in the industry. With the formation of CPKC, Meyer’s organization now consists of more than 8,300 employees spanning three countries—Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. One team under Meyer’s leadership is the Operations Technology group which leads the development of the hydrogen locomotive program including the conversion kits for diesel electric locomotives, all directly supporting CPKC’s focus on sustainability. In 2002, the team was awarded Canada’s Hydrogen Mobility Award for their efforts. Upon the combination of Canadian Pacific with Kansas City Southern, Meyer currently serves as co-chair of CPKC’s Diversity & Inclusion Council whose goal is to develop impactful strategies and practices to foster a diverse workplace where every CPKC railroader feels both valued and a sense of belonging enabling them to reach their full potential. 

Laura Mason
Executive Vice President Capital Delivery, Amtrak

Laura Mason is responsible for executing the largest capital program in Amtrak’s history in her role as Executive Vice President Capital Delivery. Since joining Amtrak in 2021, she has been a key driver of the company’s transformation as it advances a new era of passenger rail in America. With more than $50 billion of critical infrastructure, facility, and fleet investments in planning and development, Mason leads Amtrak’s efforts to turn its ambitious plans into reality. Examples include the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program now under way in Baltimore; new Acela, Amtrak Airo and Long-Distance trains on the way; station redevelopment projects under construction in Baltimore and Philadelphia; and much more. Prior to Amtrak, Laura served in various leadership roles with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), and before that, 12 years at Bechtel Corp. She is a member of the APTA Board of Directors and Northeast Corridor Commission.

Jim Vena
Chief Executive Officer, Union Pacific

A railroader, Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena has more than 40 years of industry experience with a demonstrated track record of driving best-in-class operating and service results. His vision for the railroad is clear: Safety, Service and Operational Excellence will equal Growth. Vena’s four decades of railroading bring unparalleled experience across operational management, marketing and project execution. He’s led through transformational times for the entire railroad industry. Vena knows railroading firsthand, beginning his career as a Canadian National Railway (CN) laborer in maintenance-of-way, then a brakeman, conductor, locomotive engineer, trainmaster and superintendent. He progressively held roles of increasing responsibility, including senior management positions in Operations, Marketing and Sales spanning CN’s East, West and Southern regions across the U.S. At CN, where he added to his knowledge by working with great leaders, Vena was ultimately promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. As UP Chief Operating Officer from 2019-2020, Vena oversaw a team that achieved efficiency savings and delivered the best service product in the company’s history. He served as Senior Advisor to the Chairman in 2021 and returned to UP as CEO in August 2023. His most recent experience as a board member is with Direct ChassisLink, Inc. (DCLI), serving on its Board of Directors as Chair of the Audit Committee. Vena also recently served on the FedEx Board of Directors’ Audit, Finance and Governance, Safety and Public Policy committees. He grew up in the mountains of the Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park. He and his wife, Karen, have sons Michael and Joseph. Vena received an undergraduate and graduate degree early in his career. UP is an iconic company with a long history of Building America, and Vena’s experience will guide UP to new levels of safety, service and operational excellence.

Phil Verster
President and Chief Executive Officer, Metrolinx

Phil Verster is President and CEO of Metrolinx, overseeing a team committed to transforming transportation in the GTHA (Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area). With a strong community and customer service emphasis, Metrolinx is delivering quality transportation services on time and on budget and working collaboratively with its partners—all key elements to delivering on the promise of Metrolinx’s Regional Transportation Plan. Prior to joining Metrolinx, Verster was one of the U.K.’s rail leaders, having managed train operations, infrastructure builds, and infrastructure management for passenger rail systems in England, Scotland and Ireland. An engineer by training, Verster began his career in the electricity sector in his native South Africa. From 2001 to 2003, he was Depot Manager and Production Director for a U.K. division of Bombardier Rail. In 2003, he moved from the supplier side to passenger rail operations at Southeastern Trains. Verster then spent five years at Irish Rail, where he served in different roles, including Deputy CEO. In 2011, Verster joined Britain’s Network Rail. His first assignment was as Managing Director of London North East and East Midlands Route, the second-largest route in the Network Rail system. He pioneered a new approach to structured continuous improvement that delivered improved safety and train performance as well as an enhanced passenger experience. He put the same innovation and discipline to work in his subsequent assignment for Network Rail running Scotland’s ScotRail passenger rail service from 2015 to 2017. In early 2017, he served as Managing Director of Network Rail’s East West Railway. Verster has a Bachelors of Engineering and a Masters of Engineering, both from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. He has an MBA from the University of Newcastle Business School and an LLM Post Graduate Diploma (Commercial Law) from the University of Northumbria, both in the U.K.

Honorable Mentions

Matthew Dick
Chief of Strategy and Development, ENSCO

Matthew Dick has more than 14 years of experience in various roles at ENSCO, including Rail Division Manager. He leads ENSCO’s expansion of service offerings, focusing on the Transportation Technology Center Operated By ENSCO and subsidiary KLD Labs, Inc. Dick holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, with more than 20 years of involvement in railroad research and technology, specializing in vehicle/track interaction, derailments and inspection technology.

Mike G. Hart 
Chief Executive Officer, Sierra Railroad Company

Mike G. Hart has more than 30 years’ experience forming and running industrial companies. The company has freight, passenger, real estate and energy divisions. Hart is a passionate environmentalist who has been named an “Environmental Hero” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a “Champion of Change” by the Obama Administration. He actively works with public agencies, local and regional governments, academia, and private industry on regulatory and environmental issues ranging from waste processing and disposal to renewable energy production. 

Lorie Tekorius
President and Chief Executive Officer, The Greenbrier Companies

Lorie Tekorius joined Greenbrier in 1995 and has served in various management roles of increasing responsibility. She was named COO in 2018 and President in 2019, prior to becoming CEO in 2022. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Tekorius is a CPA. She serves on the Board of Alamo Group, Inc. In 2020, the Manufacturing Institute recognized her as a STEP Ahead honoree. In 2018, she was named a Railway Age “Woman in Rail” honoree. She was recognized as Oregon’s 2017 CFO of the Year by the Portland Business Journal. In the same year, the PBJ awarded her with the Women of Influence recognition.