BNSF creates operations support AVP post, touts Kansas engineer's presidential recognition

BNSF Railway Co. has appointed Chris Matthews to the newly created position of assistant vice president of operations support.

Matthews will report to VP of Safety, Training and Operations Support Mark Schulze and be responsible for helping to leverage existing and emerging operations technology projects.

A U.S. Army veteran who was an armored cavalry officer for five years, Matthews most recently was a principal at A. T. Kearney, a worldwide management consulting firm he served for 11 years.

While at A T. Kearney, Matthews was a senior leader in the transportation practice, focusing on operational improvement at industrial companies, including railroads and airlines. One of his assignments included leading a team that helped establish BNSF's Maintenance Excellence program, which is designed to increase productivity, planning and coordination between engineering and other departments.

BNSF also announced that Jude Quinn, a locomotive engineer based in Topeka, Kan., recently was honored at the White House by President Barack Obama and former President George H.W. Bush among several Daily Points of Light Foundation honorees.

Quinn was recognized for his work as co-founder of SilverbackKS, a volunteer organization focused on providing services to the underprivileged. Quinn and two of his friends organized SilverbackKS to help coordinate ways to fulfill the needs of community agencies and volunteers, such as by delivering meals at a homeless shelter.

The Daily Points of Light Foundation was created under the Bush administration and since has continued under Obama's administration.