Amtrak taps Griffin as new EVP, CMO

Amtrak has hired Timothy Griffin as executive vice president and chief marketing officer, the national passenger railroad announced yesterday.

Griffin will be responsible for marketing, passenger experience, product support and management, and business development for the Northeast Corridor, state-supported routes and long-distance services, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

He has more than 40 years of marketing experience in the transportation and travel industries. For nearly 30 years, Griffin held marketing positions at Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines. In 1999, he was named executive VP of marketing at Northwest, where he was responsible for $10 billion in passenger revenue production.

Griffin also directed client services at Brierley and Partners, where he provided loyalty marketing for Nieman Marcus and United Airlines. Most recently, he managed a private investment company, providing consulting services in the travel, transportation and distribution industries.

Griffin will report to Richard Anderson, Amtrak's president and co-chief executive officer.

"Tim brings a deep level of transportation marketing expertise to Amtrak," said Anderson. "Throughout his career, he has repeatedly shown that he knows how to build strong corporate brands that accelerate a company's growth. At Amtrak, we are looking for Tim to help us identify and win new customers, while continuing to maintain our loyal base of current customers."