Rising Stars 2022: Brian Steadman

Brian Steadman, 38
Assistant vice president, capital investment accounting
Kansas City Southern

Nominator’s quote: “Brian has been a loyal and dedicated employee and a true contributor to KCS’ success over the past decade-and-a-half.” — Suzie Grafton, Kansas City Southern

Education: B.A. in finance; MBA, University of Missouri.

Job responsibilities: Fixed asset and lease accounting, inventory accounting, joint facilities accounting and non-freight billing.

Career path: Started at KCS in external reporting and spent time in the treasury, internal audit, investor relations and financial planning and analysis departments before coming back to accounting.

How did you get into the railroad industry? A lifelong friend and still-current coworker encouraged me to apply for my first role at KCS.

What is the best career advice you’ve received? Always build strong working relationships. Relationships built on mutual trust and respect are imperative to a long, successful career.

What advice would you give to a new railroader? Always look for opportunities to learn, both about your current role and the company as a whole. Understanding company objectives and how people collaborate throughout the organization will provide valuable insight.

What was your very first job? Delivering a regional weekly newspaper in my neighborhood when I was 12.

Describe a fun fact about yourself. I participate in barbecue competitions with a group of long-time friends. While we don’t take ourselves too seriously, we somehow placed 25th in brisket at the American Royal BBQ competition, which typically has over 600 entries, many of which are professional teams and restaurants.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? My wife and I have four kids aged 13, 10, 7 and 4, so most time outside of work is spent at sporting or dance events. When we aren’t at those events, we enjoy beach vacations or frequent lake trips in the summer with extended family.

How has the pandemic changed your views of your career and life in general? We have shown that people can maintain productivity without being in the same physical location. While I look forward to a hybrid work approach to increase collaboration with coworkers, the flexibility that remote work can offer has been a welcome change.