From the Editor: BNSF CIO to deliver rail summit keynote

On May 26, Progressive Railroading will host “IT Advancements to Meet Organizational Strategy,” a virtual summit featuring the perspectives of seven freight-railroad technology leaders, including representatives from five Class Is.

Muru Murugappan, VP of technology services and chief information officer for BNSF Railway Co., will deliver the keynote: “BNSF IT Strategy.”

The summit features six additional speakers:

• Dominique Malenfant, EVP and Chief Information and Technology Officer, CN ("Technology in Motion: The Journey from PSR to DSR)";
• Arthur Adams, SVP of sales, CSX, whose presentation is titled “Partnering Technological Innovation with Supply Chain Management for Best-in-Class Service”;
• Chris Hudson, director of IT application development, Norfolk Southern Corp. (“Tech Mobility for Field Operations”);
• Katie Sanders, AVP of NetControl and ops system development, IT department, Union Pacific Railroad (“Union Pacific’s Network Development”);
• Greg Walling, VP of service design, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (“Customer-centric IT Updates”); and
• Gregg Robbins, director of technical services and security, Watco (“Reassessing The Matrix”).

The summit will begin at 11 a.m. EST and end at 4:30 p.m. EST. It costs $99 to register; $49 for RailPrime subscribers. For more information or to register, visit: progressiverailroading.com/lp/0521railsummit. For more information on RailPrime, Progressive Railroading’s premium digital subscription offering, visit progressiverailroading.com/railprime.

2021 Rising Stars unveiled

On April 28, Progressive Railroading announced the 25 people chosen for recognition this year as Rising Stars in the North American railroad industry.

We define a Rising Star as someone under the age of 40 who has made, or is making, a positive impact on his or her company, organization, department or team, and is viewed by others — peers, colleagues, supervisors, clients or associates — as an up-and-coming leader in the rail industry.

The 2021 class comprises:

Harrison Armstrong, R.J. Corman Railroad Group LLC; Troy Banks, New Orleans Public Belt Railroad; Stephani Bazata, Union Pacific Railroad; Christopher Bennett, CSX; Erika Bruhnke, RailPros; 

Mohit Bhat, CN; Amanda DeCesare, CSX; Judith Espino Gonzalez, Kansas City Southern de Mexico; Antonio Frazier, Union Pacific Railroad; Carl Garrison, Union Pacific Railroad; 

Matt Hemsath, Archer Western Construction LLC; Kimberly Howe, Siemens Mobility; Brian Lapp, New Jersey Transit; Joangelie Lind, Florida East Coast Railway; Laura Mason, Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority; 

Charlie Monte Verde, Genesee Valley Transportation; Preston Nelson, Watco; Andrea Niethold, CN; Nicole Ochroch, Port Authority Transit Corp.; Marcus Parrott, BNSF Railway Co.; 

Ashley Reid, Canadian Pacific; Kristen Scully, Canadian Pacific; Nick Troutman, Pioneer Railcorp; Carmen Wallace, Kansas City Southern; and Sean Winkler, Tai Ginsberg & Associates LLC.

The 2021 Rising Stars will be honored during a virtual ceremony on July 20. We’ll also feature their stories on ProgressiveRailroading.com this summer and in the magazine in September. Congratulations to the 2021 Rising Stars class.