BNSF tabs Carter to head merged department; Pacific Imperial Railroad selects Patterson as CCO

BNSF Railway Co. has appointed Judy Carter vice president of compliance and audit, and secretary.

The Class I is merging the compliance and audit departments, and Carter will oversee the combined department. VP of Corporate Audit Services Dave Stropes and his team will report to Carter, who also will serve as corporate secretary.

Carter has served as chief compliance officer since October 2009 and also became associate general counsel in April 2010. She joined BNSF in 2006 as a senior general attorney. Prior to that, Carter was a member of the corporate and securities practice group at Winstead PC.

"Judy has been steadfast in her attention to detail and unswerving commitment to ensuring BNSF fulfills its compliance obligations," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Matt Rose — who will become executive chairman on Jan. 1 — in a press release.

Meanwhile, Pacific Imperial Railroad Inc. (PIR) has named Charles Patterson chief commercial officer.

He has 25 years of railroad experience in operations, sales and marketing roles with CSX Transportation, CN, Great Lakes Transportation and RailAmerica Inc., where he was senior vice president and CCO.

Patterson will "represent the advantages of this railroad with our client base of more than 700 manufacturing facilities in northwest Mexico," said PIR Chief Executive Officer Ernie Dahlman in a press release.

In December 2012, PIR signed a 99-year lease with the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway Co. and San Diego Metropolitan Transit System to provide freight-rail service on the 70-mile Desert Line, which serves the Tijuana-Tecate region of Baja California, Mexico and eastern San Diego County. PIR's 130-mile system will link with BNSF and San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad lines in southwestern San Diego County, and a Union Pacific Railroad line near El Centro, Calif.