CSX Hires Ex-Ford Govt Joseph Hinrichs as CEO
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CSX Corp. named Joseph Hinrichs as its subsequent chief government officer, handing the reins of the railroad large to a automobile man.
Hinrichs, a former high government with Ford Motor Co., will take over as CEO for James Foote on Sept. 26 as a part of a deliberate succession course of, CSX stated Sept. 15 in a press release. The departing boss, who is also leaving the board, will proceed to work as an adviser via March 31 to assist with the transition.
The appointment comes hours after the rail business and unions representing greater than 100,000 staff reached a tentative labor settlement, dodging a probably catastrophic work stoppage.
The brand new job marks a shift for Hinrichs, who had been a rising star within the automobile business. As the previous automotive president of Ford, he was seen as a doable candidate for the corporate’s high publish earlier than abruptly stepping down in early 2020, shortly earlier than Jim Farley turned CEO.
In an interview, Hinrichs stated CSX reached out to him a number of months in the past and after assembly with every board member and spending vital time with Foote, he decided it was “an important match and an important match for me.”
“I had the advantage of being a buyer of the rail business for a few years,” Hinrich stated of his a long time of transport vehicles by rail. “So I get to ask questions from a buyer’s perspective as I come into this position, which I believe will be useful.”
Hinrichs stated he awoke the morning of Sept. 15 to a textual content telling him the labor dispute had been settled. “Timing is every little thing,” he stated, with amusing. He plans to spend his first 100 days touring to satisfy with staff and heal any lingering divisions.
“It was very useful for Ford and for me personally to have had the relationships I had with the UAW and Unifor,” Hinrichs stated of the auto business’s two main labor unions. “I stay up for constructing these relationships with the labor leaders within the rail business. It’s a bit extra difficult — 12 totally different unions.”
The intervention of President Joe Biden to keep away from a labor disruption underscores the rail business’s important position in shifting greater than 40% of the long-haul shipments within the U.S., Hinrichs stated.
“What an important alternative to remind individuals how essential the rail business is to our financial system,” Hinrichs stated. “With what’s occurring on this planet — a excessive inflationary atmosphere, elevated price for individuals, congestion, infrastructure work wanted on the freeway system, truck driver shortages — right here we’re. We are able to really tackle extra of that work.”
Whereas at Ford, Hinrichs performed a key position within the firm’s funding in electrical truck startup Rivian Automotive Inc. and served on the startup’s board. Since Hinrichs left, the automaker canceled plans to collectively construct an electrical car with Rivian and decreased its stake within the startup.
Hinrichs additionally championed the revival of the Bronco sport-utility car at Ford and beneficial the corporate broaden the lineup with a compact model of the rugged off-roader. However he in the end misplaced out to Farley within the race to guide the corporate after the launch of the Explorer SUV in 2019 was marred by manufacturing and high quality issues.
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