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7/21/2023
Norfolk Southern Corp. yesterday announced the addition of two independent directors to its board and a series of corporate governance updates.
Appointed to the board are Philip Davidson, who will serve on the board’s Safety and Finance and Risk Management committees; and Francesca DeBiase, who will serve on the Audit and Governance and Nominating committees.
Davidson is an experienced senior executive and leader of large-scale organizations in dynamic environments, NS officials said in a press release. He has extensive experience in safety, strategic planning, risk management and organizational design across his more than 30-year career in the U.S. Navy. He retired in 2021 as a U.S. Senate-confirmed four-star admiral, leading the Indo-Pacific Command from 2018 to 2021.
DeBiase is an accomplished executive with more than 30 years of experience across food, packaging, logistics, construction, real estate and marketing services. She previously served as executive vice president and global chief supply chain officer of McDonald's Corp., where she held leadership roles in supply chain and sustainability initiatives for nearly 15 years.
The NS board regularly evaluates its composition in response to shareholders and to ensure “a diversity of skills, experience and perspectives,” said Chair Amy Miles in a press release.
Davidson’s and DeBiase’s appointments will enhance the company’s efforts to create a “customer-centric, operations-driven service organization and to execute on our industry-leading growth strategy," said President and CEO Alan Shaw.
In connection with the new appointments, the board will expand to 15 directors, 14 of whom are independent. Current directors Mitchell Daniels Jr. and Michael Lockhart will retire from the board following the company's 2024 annual meeting. The board will then comprise 13 directors.
As part of the board's succession planning, NS also announced the appointments of current directors Christopher Jones as chair of the Safety Committee, succeeding Lockhart; and Jennifer Scanlon as chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee, succeeding Daniels. Jones' appointment will be effective Sept. 1, and Scanlon's at or before Daniels' retirement.