Walsh named CEO of Sasser Family Holdings

Jeff Walsh has been appointed to serve as Sasser’s new chief executive officer.

Sasser Family Holdings, Inc., (Sasser) has appointed Jeff Walsh, previously the company's chief operating officer, to serve as chief executive officer, effective Feb. 15.   

Walsh will replace Fred Sasser, who is resigning from a 36-years term as CEO. Sasser will continue serving as the company’s executive chairman.

“Jeff is an accomplished and knowledgeable industry leader who has helped to drive our U.S. business units to several years of strong growth,” said Toby Luther, the independent director of Sasser’s board of directors. “We are absolutely confident that Jeff will further lead Sasser and its subsidiaries to steadily improving operational and financial performance.”

With more than 20 years of leadership experience in the rail industry, Walsh spent 15 years at GATX Corporation before becoming part of the Sasser team in 2013.

Luther added that the transition is considered “particularly significant,” because Walsh is the first non-family member to be named CEO of the company.

“The Board is especially grateful to Fred, under whose skillful, visionary leadership Sasser grew its market presence from a regional company to having a transportation and logistics footprint in the US and abroad,” Luther continued. “We are also pleased that Fred will continue as our executive chairman.”

Fred Sasser noted that the company’s success was not always as stable as it is currently. 

“When I took over from my father in 1981, we were headed into a very deep cyclical downturn in the rail business,” Fred Sasser said. “It was the biggest downturn since the Depression and remains the biggest we’ve seen. I came into a company that my father left with a strong financial base despite these conditions. At the time, all that [Sasser] had was Chicago Freight Car Leasing and one repair shop—Hoosier Railcar Company (now CF Rail Services). We looked to expand the business into leasing additional types of transportation and logistics equipment, and into expanding our railcar repair network. In 1998, we became international with the addition of CFCL Australia. Our most recent two pieces were a specialized truck rental business, Express 4X4 Truck Rental, and offering ground support equipment through Xcēd Aviation Services.”

At GATX, Walsh was group executive, Structured Finance and, previously, general manager of Rail Structured Finance, Industrial Equipment Finance and Marine. Before serving GATX, Walsh spent two years at GE Capital in the Genstar Container and GE Capital Rail Services business units. 

While holding the position as Sasser’s COO, Walsh reportedly managed the restructuring of CF Rail Services and the realignment of Sasser’s information technology department. He was also heavily involved in organizing the leadership teams for Express 4X4 Truck Rental and Xcēd Aviation, officials say.

” Jeff lives our culture every day and he brings exceptional industry experience and contacts to his new role,” Fred Sasser said. “Jeff has been pivotal to the continued success of Sasser and to strengthening the commitment of our business units to meeting and anticipating our customers’ needs. Over the course of nearly a year, the board was careful and intentional in deciding who our next CEO should be. I fully participated in the process and am really excited that Jeff is our new CEO.”

The company says Walsh’s priorities as CEO will include further exploring opportunities to grow the company’s footprint and increasing cross-functional collaboration while building an engaged and socially responsible employee culture. 

“I am honored and gratified to have earned the board’s confidence at a company with such a rich history and legacy,” Walsh said. “The opportunity to work alongside one of the great names in the rail industry and the perspective I’ve gained from helping to build the Sasser brand will be invaluable as I work to drive our strategic priorities to best serve our customers and stakeholders now and into the future.”