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BNSF Railway Co. recently named Rollin Bredenberg vice president of capacity planning and operations research; Bob Lease, VP of service design and performance to succeed Bredenberg; and Rob Reilly, regional VP-South Region to succeed Lease.

Bredenberg, who had served as VP of service design and performance since 1999, will continue to report to Executive VP of Operations Greg Fox and EVP and Chief Marketing Officer John Lanigan. Bredenberg joined BNSF predecessor Santa Fe Railway in 1994 and has held various rail industry positions for the past 47 years.

Lease, who will be responsible for service design functions for the coal, agricultural, industrial and consumer products business units, also will report to Fox and Lanigan. He joined a BNSF predecessor in 1978 and progressed through a number of positions with increasing leadership responsibility, including regional VP-Central Region and general manager of the Chicago Division.

Most recently assistant vice president of locomotive utilization, Reilly joined the Santa Fe Railway in 1989 and since has held a number of increasingly responsible leadership positions, including assistant VP-best way initiatives and GM of the Chicago Division. BNSF plans to name his successor at a later date.

Meanwhile, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) named Laurie Knight senior VP of government affairs, effective July 25. She will succeed Hubert “Obie” O’Bannon, who plans to retire after serving the association for 23 years.

Knight most recently was EVP of government affairs for the National Association of Broadcasters. She previously was director of government affairs for the National Beer Wholesalers Association and legislative director for Rep. Jim Turner (D-Texas).

O’Bannon has more than 35 years of experience advocating rail industry objectives in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining AAR in 1988, he was director of federal relations at the Consolidated Rail Corp.