BNSF’s Fox plans retirement; Freeman named successor

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor

Greg Fox, who has served as executive vice president, Operations at BNSF since November 2010, plans to retire and Dave Freeman will step into the position on June 1.

 

Fox is preparing to close a more than 30-year railroad career and will remain with BNSF through August to ensure a smooth transition. As of June 1, Freeman will oversee the entire Operations organization, including Engineering, Environmental, Mechanical, Operations Support, Transportation, Safety and Training, Service Design and Resource Protection.

“Greg has played an absolutely essential role in building and shaping who we are today at BNSF,” said Carl Ice, president and chief executive officer. “It’s hard to think of an area that Greg hasn’t influenced – from our culture of commitment to safety, to the strategy driving our investment in technology and infrastructure, to our focus on velocity and continuous improvement throughout our operation. His intelligent and perceptive leadership, his steady vision when facing challenges and his genuine concern for people have all been hallmarks of his leadership style and his impact on our company. We will miss Greg, and we wish Greg and his wife Lynda all the best in his retirement.”

Fox began his railroad career in 1984 as a corporate management trainee in Fort Worth. He held a variety of positions with increasing responsibility in Operations, Finance, Strategic Planning and Information Technology. Following the BNSF merger, Fox was promoted to assistant vice president in Information Systems in 1996 and played a key role in the implementation of BNSF’s Transportation Support System. He was named vice president, eBusiness, in October 1999. He was promoted to vice president, Technology Services and chief information officer and served in that role from April 2001 to September 2002.

Prior to his new role, Freeman served as senior vice president, Transportation; vice president, Transportation and vice president, Engineering. Freeman will report to Carl Ice and will join BNSF’s Executive Team.

“Dave is a strong, resilient, empowering leader, who has led many teams across Operations to deliver outstanding results,” said Ice. “We are fortunate to have someone of Dave’s caliber in this role. With his deep commitment to safe production and his exceptional ability to develop and foster others, he will be a great leader on the journey going forward. We look forward to his important contributions in this executive role.”

Freeman began his career with BNSF in 2001 as assistant vice president, Fort Worth Service Region. He subsequently served as general manager, Gulf Division; general superintendent, Transportation and assistant vice president, Intermodal and Automotive Operations. He was named assistant vice president and chief engineer, South Engineering Operations, in 2004 and was promoted to regional vice president, North Operations, in June 2006.

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