Joe Hinrichs Has Left The Building at CSX
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief
Joe Hinrichs, former CEO of CSX. Photo courtesy CSX.
JACKSONVILLE –– In a move that surprised most of the railroad industry, CSX announced today that CEO Joe Hinrich's has "departed" the company.
The official word came in a press release issued by CSX this morning:
“CSX Corp. today announced that its Board of Directors has named Steve Angel as President and Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective September 28. He succeeds Joe Hinrichs, who has departed from the company as President, CEO, and Board member. Angel will work closely with the Board and management team to ensure a seamless transition. CSX’s operating performance remains strong, and the company still expects to deliver full-year volume growth.
“Angel is an accomplished executive with over 45 years of experience leading large, public companies and generating strong shareholder returns. He has a long and proven track record of leading high-performing teams, fostering a collaborative culture, and driving operational excellence and growth, while maintaining disciplined capital allocation and attractive returns on capital.” “
In a Railway Age editorial commentary on August 29 Editor-in-Chief William C. Vanutono wrote:
“In the space of one week, hedge fund Ancora resurfaced from the swamp and mounted an ugly, nonsensical, fabrication-filled attack on CSX and CEO Joe Hinrichs (our current Railroader of the Year), proclaiming that CSX, only because Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced their intended combination, must pursue a merger with either BNSF or CPKC—both of which responded with, “Dumb idea. Get lost.” Then, POTUS 47, once again invoking his The Apprentice reality TV persona, told STB Member Robert Primus, ‘You’re Fired!’”
Coincidentally, Ancora Holdings said in a press release this afternoon:
“We applaud the CSX Board of Directors for heeding shareholder feedback and terminating former CEO Joe Hinrichs. This follows Ancora’s disclosure of its August 2025 letter that laid out the facts about Mr. Hinrichs’ value-destructive tenure and urged the Board to terminate him if he could not quickly position CSX to catch up to the railroads that have embraced the need for transcontinental service in the United States. As we expected, Mr. Hinrichs botched the opportunity and, if anything, appeared to try to fight the tailwinds of consolidation.“
Trains Magazine, on its “TRAINSPro” website, quoted well-known independent railroad analyst Anthony B. Hatch as saying he was “’stunned’ that CSX named a new CEO. In a sign that investors welcomed the change at the top, CSX stock jumped 5% on Monday, a flat day for the market overall,” adding that Hatch said “‘I don’t get it. I don’t understand it.'”
