BNSF's Fox to retire, Freeman to serve as exec VP of operations

BNSF Railway Co. announced late last week that Greg Fox, executive vice president of operations, will retire in August after more than 30 years with the railroad.

Fox, who has served in his current post since November 2010, will be succeeded by Dave Freeman effective June 1. Freeman will oversee the entire operations organization, including engineering, environmental, mechanical, operations support, transportation, safety and training, service design and resource protection.

Fox will stay on with the railroad through August to ensure a smooth transition, BNSF officials said in a press release.

"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," said BNSF President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Ice. "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."

Fox began his railroad career in 1984 as a corporate management trainee in Fort Worth, Texas. He held positions with increasing responsibility in operations, finance, strategic planning and information technology. After the BNSF merger, Fox was promoted to assistant VP 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 of 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 of transportation since April 2014. He also has served as vice president of transportation and vice president of engineering.

"Dave is a strong, resilient, empowering leader, who has led many teams across operations to deliver outstanding results," said Ice.