Rising Stars 2024: Jacob Elium

Jacob Elium, 34
Vice president, network planning and optimization
Norfolk Southern Railway

Nominator’s quote: “Jacob Elium is making a significant and positive difference in the railroad industry through his strategic leadership and commitment to drive innovation and efficiency.” — Alex Nikitin, Jackson Spalding

Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science, Washington and Lee University.

Job responsibilities: Oversee the railroad operating plan, commercial planning and fleet planning. Network Planning and Optimization coordinates between operations and marketing to ensure we achieve our service, growth and productivity initiatives are achieved.

Career path: I started as a management trainee in labor relations before moving to human resources, where I was in charge of forecasting and craft hiring. After another brief stint in labor relations working on terminal processes, I moved to Atlanta as the assistant general manager of crew management. In 2021, I moved to marketing as the assistant vice president of customer logistics, where I oversaw industrial product shipments. In 2022, I was promoted to group vice president of automotive, with commercial responsibility of our finished vehicle and automotive parts franchise before being promoted to NPO.

Why did you choose a career in the rail industry? After college I was looking to join a company that had a lot of career growth potential and a wide range of job opportunities.

What’s the best career advice that you’ve received? I was advised early in my career to get as much diversity in experience as possible as early as possible. I enjoy learning the railroad from an operations, marketing and administrative position and I am fortunate to have found a company that has provided those opportunities.

What advice would you share with someone just starting out in their railroad career? Never miss an opportunity to learn how the railroad interacts with the supply chain and the customer’s needs. Not only will it make you better at your job, but it will also make you appreciate the job.

What was your first job? I was in charge of putting the lines on baseball fields when I was 14. I made $5 a field.

Share a fun fact about yourself. I have been with Norfolk Southern for 12 years and spent time in six different departments.

Who has had the most influence on your career? My grandpa retired from the Norfolk Southern mechanical department in 1990 and I grew up listening to his railroad stories. At the time I was interested in going to law school and my grandpa told me about the management trainee program.

Describe a major obstacle in your career and how you surmounted it. Navigating the complexities of COVID-19 while leading the crew management group was the most difficult time of my career. Keeping the railroad moving and employees healthy was a challenge. The team was able to adapt to new technology. This allowed employees to work from home and ultimately provide a safer outcome for the employees and keep the trains moving uninterrupted.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the rail industry today? The rail industry has amazing advantages with physics and infrastructure. The industry needs to improve on delivering good service over the long run, in order to provide an opportunity for companies to grow with rail and build rail into their supply chains. This requires long-term vision.The operations team at NS is working to implement a sustainable and efficient operating plan with a high degree of reliability that will allow our customers grow through an increasingly reliable service product.