Rising Stars 2024: Garrett King

Garrett King, 30
Senior manager track standards
CN

Nominator quote: “Throughout his career, Garrett has sought innovative solutions — demonstrating a commitment to safety, environmental sustainability and cost reduction.” — Carole Michelucci, CN

Education: Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, University of Calgary; registered professional engineer, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta

Job responsibilities: Leads a team of engineers responsible for maintaining and innovating maintenance-of-way standards and practices and the testing and acceptance of new track materials. Collaborates on cross-functional work for capital allocation and network capacity changes.

Career path: I started my career with CN as a summer intern after completing my first year of university. I have been with them ever since. After graduating in 2016, I started full time as an engineering officer working under the regional chief engineer. In 2018, I took on a field role as a program supervisor managing CN’s track construction and tie production crews. In 2020, I moved into the dual role of manager engineering and track quality. In this position, I was responsible for the day-to-day engineering operations for the Alberta north territory in addition to capital planning for Alberta. In 2022, I was promoted to senior manager track standards.

Why did you decide to go into railroading? I grew up in a family of railroaders. While both of my parents worked for CN, they always encouraged me to find my own path. After my CN internship, I knew the railway was the right career for me. I was fortunate to be part of an amazing team where I experienced firsthand how effective teamwork and collaboration contribute to safely and effectively completing major projects. It was the fast-paced, practical problem-solving that really drew me in.

What’s the best career advice that you’ve received so far? Be humble and listen and learn from everyone, whether it is the track foreman, your regional engineer or your new intern. Everyone can teach you something.

What advice would you share with someone just starting out in rail? Be curious, ask questions, and do not hesitate to step outside your comfort zone. The railway is one of the most exciting industries with a multitude of career paths. While it may be intimidating to step into a different function or take on a new challenge, the experience is always worth it.

What was your first job? Cutting lawns during the summer in high school.

Share a fun fact about yourself. I am an avid runner. I was the captain of our varsity track and field team in university, and still run almost every day. I find it’s one of the best ways to stay focused both on work and my health.

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be and why? Simon Sinek is one of my favorite authors when it comes to leadership and his TED Talks are extremely engaging. It would be very interesting to have the opportunity to gain some insights from him over dinner.?

Who has had the most influence on your career? My family. My mom was a rail traffic controller and rules instructor, and my dad has been in the rail industry for 47 years. So, there is no shortage of railway discussions in the family. My parents have always kept me grounded and do not shy away from giving honest feedback. Most important, since I was young my parents have always instilled a safety culture, which is so critical to our industry and is one of the things that I seek to build on with every team that I work with.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the rail industry today? How we attract, grow and develop the next generation of railroaders. Like many other industries there is a generational gap, and we need to build the next generation of railroaders. We have many new employees and many senior employees retiring or have retired. We need to figure out how we bridge the gap to retain the institutional knowledge and leverage new and emerging technologies to have a safe and efficient rail operation.