From the editor: When the next right thing beckons

By Pat Foran, Editor

In September, I traveled to Norfolk Southern Corp. headquarters in Atlanta to interview President and CEO Alan Shaw, the 2023 Railroad Innovator Award recipient, for this month’s cover story. Upon my arrival, Shaw took me to Central Intelligence, the Class I’s network operations center (NOC). It’s where Shaw starts his day when he’s in Atlanta.

It was clear he loves the place — the view NS’ nerve center provides of the railroad, its vibe, the people who work there. I got the sense Shaw would prefer it if his office were located there, too.

Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO Griff Lynch, an NS business partner and friend of Shaw’s who also has toured the NOC, came away feeling a similar way. He marveled at the connection Shaw has with his colleagues.

“It feels like he understands where they’re coming from — people I talk to at NS tell me that about him,” Lynch said. “When you immerse yourself and meet people there, you see how they carry themselves. What it is, I think, is Alan has developed a winning culture.”

Lynch paused, then added: “What you have to remember is, it isn’t like he hasn’t had anything else going on.”

That “anything else” is ensuring NS does right thing in East Palestine, Ohio.

The Feb. 3 derailment is a subject some of Shaw’s business partners, peers and friends aren’t sure they should raise with him. Last month, Mark McEwen met Shaw for dinner. McEwen is managing partner at Cameron Crittendon, a grain brokerage and logistics firm, and an NS business partner.

“I said I thought I should give him space — that if he needed some time for himself, to let me know,” McEwen told me. “Alan said, ‘I need your conversation, whether it’s texting or talking. Let’s do it once a week. Tell me how you’re doing. How we’re doing. How we are treating you.’”

It reminded me of something Progressive Railroading columnist Tony Hatch said following Shaw’s presentation in May at the North American Rail Shippers Association’s annual conference. In Chicago Shaw provided an update on the East Palestine recovery efforts, reiterating NS’ (and his own) commitment to the community. To do the right thing. And the next right thing.

“It’s unfortunate that NS is the one to carry the ball … but, then again, it is fortunate because of the way Alan Shaw has responded,” Hatch said.

I shared Hatch’s statement with McEwen. McEwen paused, then said:

“I grew up in a small town in Indiana. God forbid something like that would happen there like in East Palestine, but if it did, I’d want Alan Shaw in charge because he’s going to do the right thing. He’s not going to go away.”

I don’t know about a lot of things. But after spending time with Alan Shaw, listening to him, listening to friends, colleagues and competitors talk about him, I know he isn’t going to go away. The next right thing beckons him. Always.