Adriene has always been drawn to those problems where the optimal solutions may not be the obvious ones. In a word: puzzles. “As a systems engineer by training, I’m always intrigued by situations where there is complexity and what might seem obvious on the surface could be driving you to an action that is really not in your best interest – and I seek out those kinds of problems where you must dig deep to fully understand the influences and forces at play that need to be addressed to deliver the desired result,” she says. After graduating university, there was nothing more exciting as a new consultant at Oliver Wyman than to be able to work on tough network optimization and corporate restructuring problems across the transportation sector. “I was fascinated by and determined to find solutions to the hard problem of running a reliable and cost-effective transportation system that meets the needs of customers with a wide variety of operating constraints and rules of engagement,” Adriene says. If you’re intrigued and energized by solving new and unique puzzles that crop up every day and you must find a solution that will get the freight delivered, you’ll find a home in transportation – and you won’t regret it for a minute! In her late 20s, she joined a US Class-1 railroad to lead their newly formed service design function. For the next 25 years, she worked in leadership roles for transportation providers – from railroads to intermodal to truck brokerage to international freight forwarding and contract logistics. “The common thread was always a transformational challenge that needed to be solved – whether in a line commercial or operating role or in the strategy/development chair,” says Adriene. The interconnected and interdependent nature of the global transportation ecosystem makes disruptions extremely costly, as witnessed by the COVID-19 pandemic. But she’s excited by the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. “The global supply chain is full of potential and has an imperative to be more resilient and more efficient. The ability for multiple parties to integrate information and orchestrate operations across organizational boundaries holds the promise of unlocking a tremendous amount of value for the world – and to eliminate costly bottlenecks and failures within the system,” Adriene says. “We will need to treat the global supply chain as a shared and vital asset and develop trust-based standards that allow for greater integration and visibility across the ecosystem and methods of responding to and optimizing our responses to disruptions at scale.”

Chuck Baker joined ASLRRA as President in February 2019 after a 15-year career in the railroad industry. Before joining ASLRRA he was a Partner at Chambers Conlon & Hartwell (CC&H), where, in addition to the ASLRRA, he represented clients such as the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC), the OneRail Coalition, the American Railway Development Association, Norfolk Southern, and Canadian National. For the NRC, Mr. Baker also served as its President. In that capacity, he had responsibility for all of the association's core financial, operational, and legal programs, including the federal legislative and regulatory program in front of both Congress and the Administration. For the OneRail Coalition, a coalition of freight rail, intercity passenger rail, commuter rail, rail labor, and rail supply industry interests, Mr. Baker coordinated the group’s activities and messaging. Prior to joining CC&H, Mr. Baker worked with the Surface Transportation Policy Project in Washington, D.C. Mr. Baker has also worked for Deutsche Bank Securities as an investment banker specializing in Corporate Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions in San Francisco, CA. Mr. Baker is a native of Baltimore, MD, and a graduate of Rice University in Houston, TX.

Marc Brazeau is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Railway Association of Canada (RAC). Brazeau has more than two decades of transportation industry association experience. Between 1995 and 2015, he worked for the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA), where he spent more than seven years as the President and CEO. In that role, he implemented advocacy strategies, represented the association with elected politicians and senior government officials to defend the interests of its members, and liaised with media on all matters related to the Canadian automotive aftermarket industry. Mr. Brazeau holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Ottawa and a three-year Public Relations diploma from Humber College. In addition, he holds the internationally recognized Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation, which is built on abilities that demonstrate the essential skills of efficient and effective not-for-profit management. Mr. Brazeau is bilingual.

Justin Broyles rejoined R. J. Corman in 2018 after serving for three years as Chief Commercial Officer for Patriot Rail. Prior to that, he held various leadership positions within R. J. Corman focusing on emergency services, storm response, construction, and national account management. He brings over 20 years of railroad industry experience. As Executive Vice President, Commercial Affairs, he oversees all commercial activity, including managing the marketing and sales teams, for R. J. Corman’s 18 short line railroads. Justin is responsible as well for all Class I account management for all R. J. Corman companies and for the company’s storm team efforts. Justin has a robust background in corporate account management, rail related services, new business development, negotiations, mergers/acquisitions, supply chain logistics, and growing strong client relationships. He also holds a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from Southern Illinois University. Justin serves on the Executive Committee of the American Short Line and Region Railroad Association Board of Directors as Vice President, East Region.

On January 31, 2017, Mr. Creel assumed his new role as President and Chief Executive Officer, becoming the 17th person to lead the company since 1881. Mr. Creel was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer in February 2013 and joined the CP Board of Directors in May of 2015. Under Mr. Creel's leadership, CP is finding safer, more efficient ways to connect customers to domestic and global markets, and will continue to play a prominent role in connecting communities in both Canada and the U.S. Prior to joining CP, Mr. Creel was Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer at Canadian National (CN). He held various positions at CN including Executive Vice-President Operations, Senior Vice-President Eastern Region, Senior Vice-President Western Region, and Vice-President of the Prairie Division. Mr. Creel began his railroad career at Burlington Northern Railway in 1992 as an intermodal ramp manager in Birmingham, Alabama. He also spent part of his career at Grand Trunk Western Railroad as a superintendent and general manager and at Illinois Central Railroad as a trainmaster and director of corridor operations, prior to its merger with CN in 1999. Mr. Creel holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Jacksonville State University. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Mr. Creel has a military background as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, during which time he served in the Persian Gulf War in Saudi Arabia. Recognized for his leadership at CP, he was named by Progressive Railroading as "Railroad Innovator" for 2014.

Elkins joined Norfolk Southern as a road brakeman in 1988. After serving as a conductor and an engineer and receiving a degree in English from Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia (now the University of Virginia’s College at Wise), Elkins joined NS’ marketing department as pricing coordinator. He served in positions of increasing responsibility in the intermodal and automotive group and currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Additionally, Elkins received an MBA from Old Dominion University.

James Foote, a senior executive with over 40 years of diverse railroad industry experience in operations, marketing and finance, was named Chief Executive Officer of CSX in December 2017. Prior to this role, Foote served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from October to December 2017. As COO, Foote aligned CSX’s Operations and Sales and Marketing Departments to advance the Scheduled Railroading transformation begun by the late E. Hunter Harrison. Before joining CSX, Foote was President and Chief Executive Officer of Bright Rail Energy, an innovative technology company that develops and sells products that allow railroads to switch locomotives to natural gas power. Foote began his railroad career at the age of 18 in the Mechanical Department on the Soo Line Railroad in Wisconsin, repairing locomotives and performing a variety of operations jobs. Moving rapidly from the front lines into management positions of increasing responsibility, he joined the Chicago and North Western Railroad, where he held senior positions in finance, law, labor relations and corporate communications, eventually becoming Vice President of Corporate Development, Investor Relations and Tax. In 1995, Foote joined the Canadian National Railway (CN) and again ascended through roles of increasing responsibility, being named Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 1999. He was in that position in 2003 when the CN named Mr. Harrison as CEO and began its implementation of Scheduled Railroading. Foote worked closely with Mr. Harrison throughout the CN’s transformation that turned a $2 billion company into one worth more than $24 billion. Foote pursued an aggressive marketing strategy that included the introduction of new intermodal and carload services that, in coordination with the operations team, greatly reduced transit times and resulted in major traffic growth. Foote left the CN in 2009, and in 2012 formed Bright Rail Energy. Foote holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Superior and a Juris Doctor degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Larry Gross is a thirty-nine-year veteran of the freight transportation sector. He is the President and Founder of Gross Transportation Consulting of Durango, CO, an independent consulting practice specializing in freight transportation matters Larry is an acknowledged expert on the intermodal sector who is quoted often in the press and makes frequent appearances before the transportation community. His “Land Lines” column appears monthly in the Journal of Commerce. He comments frequently on Twitter using the handle “Intermodalist”. He is also the author and creator of “Intermodal in Depth”, an analytical report covering all aspects of the intermodal sector. www.intermodalindepth.com Larry has played a key role in the creation of educational content at the IANA Intermodal Expo for the past six years including participating in the “Inside Intermodal” opening general session. He enjoys teaching and has authored business case studies for use in the IANA Academic Challenge competition at the University of North Florida, the 2018 Operation Stimulus competition in Denver as well as the IANA Expo Academic Challenge. Prior to starting his consulting practice, Larry enjoyed a long career in intermodal equipment development and sales. He is the individual most closely associated with the innovative RoadRailer intermodal system, an organization that he headed for over a decade. During this part of his career he was responsible for the sale of roughly a half-billion dollars’ worth of RoadRailer equipment both in North America and various overseas nations. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Arts and Design from MIT. He splits his time between Durango CO and Mahwah, NJ, enjoying the special qualities of each location.

Mr Harding was appointed Managing Director & CEO of Aurizon in December 2016. Mr Harding has more than 30 years’ experience across the resource and rail sectors, as a leader committed to creating sustainable, productive businesses that make meaningful contributions to the community. Mr Harding has led initiatives to leverage Aurizon’s core expertise in heavy haulage and rail infrastructure and to drive improved safety and operational performance. Mr Harding champions the role of rail in decarbonising the nation’s supply chains, leveraging the environmental, safety and productivity benefits of rail freight for economic and community benefit. Prior to starting with Aurizon, Mr Harding was the global Chief Executive of Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore business with responsibility for managing supply chains for the world’s largest integrated portfolio of iron ore assets.

Anthony B. Hatch was honored by being named the 2019 North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS) “Person of the Year”. Tony has been a senior transportation analyst on Wall Street for over thirty years, starting at major financial institutions (Salomon Brothers; Argus, PaineWebber, Natwest Markets) prior to starting his independent analyst/consultancy at the turn of the century. Mr. Hatch's coverage has been focused on the freight transportation segment, particularly surface transportation. Mr. Hatch is known for his knowledge of the intermodal area, where the various modes of freight transport converge, on which he has held several dozen specialized conferences, prior to co-founding and co-leading RailTrends in the 21st century, the rail industry’s most comprehensive conference (www.railtrends.com). Mr. Hatch provides not only “traditional” yet independent institutional transport research but also provides “bespoke” research such as due diligence and other services to “new” players in transport investment such as private equity, infrastructure and activist and other hedge funds in such areas as intermodal, short lines, rail maintenance and construction, railcar leasing and 3pls, as well as specific research for or concerning major railroads in North America as well as in Brazil, China, the UK, India and, especially, Australia. In addition to assignments with various trade and government organizations (such as the Association of American Railroads, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, the United Transportation Union, the Canadian Transportation Agency, the Railway Association of Canada, the Intermodal Association of North America, the North American Association of Rail Shippers, AREMA/NRC/RSI, the Railway Association of the UK, Australian railways, Railinc/Steelroads), various other freight shipper and supplier organizations (including NITL, NGFA, and NEARS/SEARS/MARS/SWARS, etc), and management consulting firms such as Pwc, Oliver Wyman/ Mercer Management, etc. He has also worked with an extensive list of private equity/infrastructure firms in the space, both here and globally. Mr. Hatch, when directly on “the street”, was named to various honor rolls, including the institutional investor (“ii”) and Wall Street Kournal all-star teams and he garnered the top spot in the prestigious Greenwich poll. He is a past president of the motor carrier analysts association. His career highlight had been testifying before congress on railroads, starting in 1998, among other testimonies. Mr. Hatch graduated from Harvard College with an a.b. In American History in 1982. He lives in New York City, and enjoys baseball (watching – LA Dodgers! - and playing), real football (spurs), Harvard sports, in addition to history (British, US, Canadian), politics, and sports cars.

Eric Jakubowski joined Anacostia Rail Holdings Company in March 2012. Prior to this position, he was director of network strategy - US, for Canadian National Railway. He previously held marketing and operating positions for more than 25 years with both CN and Conrail. Eric served on the STB’s Rail Shipper Transportation Advisory Committee as well as Northwestern University’s Transportation Center Business Advisory Committee. Harvard University (BA); Northwestern University (MBA); (MA)

Rahul Jalali was appointed senior vice president-Information Technologies and chief information officer in November 2020. In this position, Jalali serves as the organization’s technology thought leader, ensuring Union Pacific has a complete, integrated process and systems strategy. This includes flexibility to innovate and improve speed-to-market by introducing new capabilities and business models driven by technology. Prior to joining Union Pacific, Jalali spent 23 years with Walmart Inc. in increasing leadership roles, most recently as corporate vice president in the technology division serving Walmart International. He specializes in developing world-class technology organizations that can scale technology platforms, leverage data, automation, machine learning, build quality products and grow/optimize businesses. Jalali holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) in Pilani, India. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Greater Bentonville Chamber of Commerce in Arkansas and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska. He and his family are passionate about involvement in the local community development projects with a focus on development of children. He and his wife, Shefali, have a son and a daughter.

As the Association of American Railroads (AAR’s) president and CEO, Jefferies advocates for and works with member railroads to ensure the continued viability of America’s railroad industry. Prior to assuming the role on January 1, 2019, Jefferies was the senior vice president of AAR’s government affairs where he led the development, promotion and implementation of legislative priorities for the AAR. Before joining the AAR, Jefferies cultivated more than a decade of experience working within government. From 2009 to 2013, Jefferies served as a senior policy advisor to the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. In this role, Jefferies provided policy guidance on a host of transportation issues, including railroad economic regulation, rail safety and passenger rail. Jefferies also led the successful development, negotiation and reauthorization of major infrastructure legislation and managed the successful conference of Committee legislation relating to the 2012 surface transportation reauthorization law, MAP 21. Jefferies began his career in government serving as a Senior Advisor to the Mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, before transitioning to the federal government. Prior to serving in the United States Senate, he worked for the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office. In these roles, Jefferies led program reviews on a variety of issues including infrastructure development, international trade, major weapon systems acquisition and federal contracting.

Richard (Dick) specializes in rail transportation equipment markets. He has an extensive background in marketing, business development, asset management, operations and sales in the rail industry; spending more than 15 years with a major rail equipment leasing company, and 10 years with several railroads, managing functions responsible for domestic and global research and market intelligence, fleet/competitor analysis, market forecasting, new market development, strategic planning and operations.

Stefan Loeb serves as Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer for Watco Companies, L.L.C. of Pittsburg, KS. Prior to this role, Stefan served in multiple commercial roles at Watco including Chief Marketing Officer, Executive Vice President - Network Strategy, Senior Vice President – Marketing & Sales and Vice President of Business Development. Before joining Watco in 2010, Stefan spent nine years at Bank of America and its predecessor LaSalle Bank, mostly in the Surface Transportation Division providing capital and banking services to short line railroads and rail supply companies. Outside of his role at Watco, Stefan serves as Chairman of the American Shortline & Regional Railroad Association, Executive Committee and Founding Member of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Transportation Executive Board, and President of the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library. Stefan holds a B.S. in Business, Finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University – Bloomington and resides in Downers Grove, IL.

Patty Long is the President of the Railway Supply Institute. Long brings over 25 years of executive experience in trade associations to RSI, most recently serving the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) as interim CEO and Chief Operating Officer with oversight of industry relations, member engagement, HR, government and regulatory affairs, and sustainability. Earlier in her career, Long worked as the Director of Communications with the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) and spent 18 years at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), rising to Vice President, Policy Research and Member Communications. Patty also taught ethics for over a decade as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies. She is a native of the Washington, DC area and is the mother of four daughters.

Michael R. “Mike” McClellan is Vice President Strategic Planning. McClellan joined Norfolk Southern in 1998 as NS’ Assistant Vice President of Intermodal Planning, became Vice President of Intermodal Marketing in February 2000, and Vice President of Intermodal & Automotive Marketing in February 2005. McClellan began his career in 1985 in the Marketing and Sales department of Conrail. Since then, McClellan has worked for the Transportation Practice of Ernst & Young as well as time as an independent transportation consultant. McClellan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A in Marketing from the University of Cincinnati. McClellan serves on the Boards of the University of Denver’s Intermodal Transportation Institute, the Virginia Maritime Association, and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Michael O. Miller was appointed President of G&W's North American operations in October 2018. He joined the company as Chief Commercial Officer for North America in September 2010 and was previously General Manager of Norfolk Southern's Modalgistics Supply Chain Solutions, where he improved customers' supply chain efficiencies through rail, transload and intermodal service. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Strategic Development for Derivion Corp and held logistics-related positions with Georgia-Pacific and Roadway Express. Mr. Miller holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and a master's in business management from North Carolina State University.

Eric Monger leads KBX Rail, LLC, which focuses on rail freight procurement, asset management, and logistics execution for many of the Koch Industries, Inc. affiliated companies and 3PL customers. Eric began his career in the railroad industry on the Union Pacific in operations management and led operations at a railcar repair network prior to joining Koch in 2014. He served as a regulatory compliance program leader until his promotion to Vice President of KBX Rail in 2018. Eric is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

Martin J. Oberman was designated Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on January 21, 2021. Marty was sworn in as a member of the Board on January 22, 2019. He is serving in his first, five-year term following his confirmation by the United States Senate on January 2, 2019. His current term expires December 31, 2023. Marty has had an extensive career in both the public and private sectors. In 2013, Marty was appointed to the board of Metra, the Chicago region’s commuter railroad, the second largest in the U.S. In 2014, he was unanimously elected Metra chairman and served until the end of 2016. While at Metra, he gained approval for the agency’s first long term fare program aimed at tackling the agency’s multi-billion dollar state-of-good-repair backlog, and led the Board’s effort to institute transparency and professional management in an effort to overcome an historic culture of politics and patronage abuses at the railroad. Most recently, he served on the board of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) until November 2018. Since 1975, Marty also maintained a successful practice in Chicago as both a trial and appellate lawyer. Marty graduated from Yale University and the University of Wisconsin Law School, cum laude, and served as a Note Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. He has been married to his wife, Bonnie, since 1971, and has two children, and three grandchildren. Marty is a native of Springfield, Illinois.

Ottensmeyer has served in his current role since 2015. From 2008 to 2015, he was executive vice president sales and marketing, and from 2006 to 2008, he was executive vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to joining KCS, Mr. Ottensmeyer served as Chief Financial Officer of Intranasal Therapeutics, Inc. from 2001 to May 2006. From 2000 to 2001, he served as Corporate Vice President Finance and Treasurer for Dade-Behring Holdings, Inc. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Ottensmeyer served as Vice President Finance and Treasurer at Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation and BNSF Railway and their predecessor companies.

Loup Logistics provides innovative transportation and supply chain solutions, including door-to-door shipping, shipment monitoring and other specialized services. Perkes has been with Union Pacific since 2002 and has held various leadership positions including AVP – Talent Management, AVP – Customer Experience, Senior Director - Customer Communications and Senior Director – Automotive Marketing. He also spent time in field operations, sales, logistics, and various other roles at Union Pacific. Perkes graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in English and has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He serves as a board member for Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands. He and his wife, Brooke, have two sons and two daughters.

Prior to forming RDC in conjunction with his partner Bob Pietrandrea, Mr. Posner entered railway service at Conrail, serving the Operating, Marketing and Sales departments in Detroit, New York and Philadelphia. He serves as Chairman of RDC; Iowa Interstate Railroad; RDC-Deutschland; RégioRail; and The Hawthorne Group. He also serves as a director of Eurorail; and a director of Vivarail. A graduate of Princeton University (BS-Civil Engineering), Mr. Posner also holds an MBA (Finance) from the Wharton School. He serves as Chairman of the EBT Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed to restore and operate the East Broad Top Railroad; Iowa Interstate’s alternate director at the Association of American Railroads; a member of the Transportation Research Board; Agriculture and Food Transport Subcommittee; a board member of the Independent School Chairpersons’ Association (ISCA); and as an Emeritus Trustee and former President of the Winchester Thurston School. He teaches an undergraduate course on rail deregulation at Carnegie Mellon University and has lectured and published extensively on railway matters. He was a contributor to the book Railway Transformation, published in 2010 by Eurail Press under the auspices of the Community of European Railways. His philanthropic activities range from support of the Jewish community in the Former Soviet Union to Operation Lifesaver. He was named among “75 People You Should Know” for Trains magazine’s 75th anniversary; is the recipient of a Paul Harris Fellowship from Rotary International for his work in Guatemala; and is an occasional contributor to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on regional affairs. RDC’s history is profiled in the book Railroaders Without Borders by Prof. H. Roger Grant (Indiana University Press, 2015). He writes haiku and speaks English, Spanish, French and Russian.

Tracy Robinson was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of CN on February 28, 2022 and is responsible for CN’s strategic direction and leadership. Prior to joining CN, Ms. Robinson was Executive Vice-President of TC Energy, President of Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines and President of Coastal GasLink, where she was responsible for the operation and profitability of the company’s federally- and provincially-regulated natural gas pipeline assets. Ms. Robinson helped advance TC Energy’s relationships with Indigenous partners across the country, including the development of agreements with a number of Indigenous communities in Alberta and the advancement of agreements with all 20 of the First Nations along the Coastal GasLink corridor. Ms. Robinson’s deep experience in the railway industry stems from her 27 years at Canadian Pacific Railway. There, she served in executive roles in the commercial, finance and operation functions, including as General Manager of Transportation Services, Vice President and Treasurer, and Vice President of Marketing and Sales. She is a member of the Campaign Committee and the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Edward’s School of Business of the University of Saskatchewan. She has also represented TC Energy on the Board of the Canadian Gas Association. Ms. Robinson holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Saskatchewan. She received her Institute of Corporate Directors designation in 2015.

As General Manager, Shannon oversees the coalition’s day-to-day operations and long-term objectives as well as communicate progress updates directly to the RailPulse Board. In preparing the RailPulse platform for market launch, he will administer pilot projects; set commercial, regulatory, and operations strategies; grow the RailPulse team; and represent the coalition externally. Shannon joins RailPulse after 25 years leading diverse teams at prominent technology organizations. Most recently, he served as Business Unit Manager for Parker Hannifin’s Diversified Technologies Business Unit. There, Shannon’s team developed and produced solutions rooted in the Internet of Things (IoT), exploring sensor technologies and software platforms that lead to better, more accurate remote condition monitoring. Before his time at Parker Hannifin, Shannon was Senior Vice President for Savi Technology, a Lockheed Martin company.

As President, Urszula Soucie manages the day-to- day administration of REMSA including membership communication, recruitment, and retention, the monthly newsletter, accounting, the annual directory, the scholarship program, and supporting the planning and execution of the Railway Interchange Conference. Prior to joining REMSA, Ms. Soucie worked for a Wisconsin based consulting firm and was Research Assistant to several transportation studies. Ms. Soucie received her B.A. in Humanistic Studies from McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

A rail transportation service provider, Watco started in 1983. Today, Watco serves 26 states.

CEO since 1998, Rick's responsibility is Watco's growth and strategic direction. Prior to becoming CEO, Rick learned the business working alongside his father in various positions within Watco.

Rick currently serves on the Association of American Railroads Board of Directors and recently served as Chairman of the Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council. He is also active in Pittsburg State University's Foundation Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors for Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Community National Bank and U.S. Bank.

Rick earned a B.S in Physics from PSU. He and his wife Stacey live in Pittsburg with their two children, Megan and Jake.

Ashley Wieland is the President of the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC). Wieland previously worked for the NRC in roles that covered operations, conference planning, government affairs and grassroots events. Most recently, she served as director of state government relations for the American Traffic Safety Services Association, where she built the association's state government relations program from the ground up, NRC officials said in a press release.