ASLRRA contracts executive search firm to help recruit a new president

An American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) committee recently selected executive search firm Industrial Search Partners (ISP) to help recruit a successor to ASLRRA President Richard Timmons, who plans to retire at year's end.

Based in Norwalk, Conn., ISP will identify potential candidates in accordance with criteria set by an association subcommittee and process prospective leaders advanced by association members for consideration, ASLRRA officials said in an item included in the April 17 edition of the association's "Views & News" newsletter. All candidates will be subject to the same independent screening and evaluation by ISP before preferred candidates are presented to ASLRRA's Executive Committee, they said.

The Executive Committee plans to install a new president in fall to allow for a transitional overlap before Timmons departs.

"ISP's assignment is an important one for extending the progress and influence of the association achieved under President Timmons," ASLRRA officials said. "We look forward to engaging another effective leader to address the political, regulatory and commercial challenges confronting the membership in the years immediately ahead."

A previous effort last year to find a new president concluded with ASLRRA's board extending Timmons’s contract through 2014.