Board Terminates Alan H. Shaw as President and
Chief Executive Officer Due to Violations of Company
Policies
Nabanita Nag Terminated as Chief Legal
Officer
Company Reaffirms Full-Year 2024
Guidance
ATLANTA, Sept. 11,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation
(NYSE: NSC) today announced that the Norfolk Southern Board of
Directors has by unanimous vote of the independent directors
appointed Mark R. George, the
company's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, as
President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
George will also join the Norfolk Southern Board.
George's appointment follows the Norfolk Southern Board's
unanimous decision to terminate Alan H.
Shaw for cause, effective immediately.
This change in leadership comes in connection with preliminary
findings from an ongoing investigation that determined Shaw
violated company policies by engaging in a consensual relationship
with the company's Chief Legal Officer. Shaw's departure is
unrelated to the company's performance, financial reporting and
results of operations.
Claude Mongeau, Chairman of the
Norfolk Southern Board, said, "The Board has full confidence in
Mark and his ability to continue delivering on our commitments to
shareholders and other stakeholders. Mark has played an integral
role in our recent progress and brings decades of financial
experience and strong operational expertise. He embodies our
corporate values and is a champion of our safety culture. In close
partnership with our accomplished COO, John
Orr, they will continue to improve NS' operating performance
and close the margin gap with peers."
"I am honored to take on this role and lead Norfolk Southern,"
said George. "I look forward to my continued partnership with John
and the entire Thoroughbred team as we further our progress on
optimizing operations and serving our customers, while creating a
safe and satisfying workplace and delivering enhanced value for our
employees, customers, shareholders, and communities."
In connection with George's appointment as Chief Executive
Officer, Norfolk Southern announced that Jason A. Zampi will serve as acting Chief
Financial Officer.
Norfolk Southern also announced that Nabanita C. Nag has been
terminated from her roles as Executive Vice President Corporate
Affairs, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, effective
immediately, in connection with the preliminary findings of the
Board's ongoing investigation. Jason M.
Morris will serve as acting Corporate Secretary.
Reaffirms 2024 Guidance
Norfolk Southern reaffirms its
full-year 2024 guidance provided on July 25,
2024, in conjunction with its second quarter 2024 financial
results.
About Mark R.
George
Mark R. George
is a seasoned executive with over 35 years of professional
experience spanning multiple global industries. He most recently
served as EVP and Chief Financial Officer of Norfolk Southern since
2019. In this capacity, George oversaw the company's Finance,
Investor Relations, Sourcing, and Corporate Strategy teams. During
his time at Norfolk Southern, Mark brought a strategic and business
partnership mindset to the CFO office. He has used his expertise
across multiple industrial segments to help shape the company's
strategy and drive value for our shareholders. Prior to joining
Norfolk Southern, he held successive roles of responsibility across
multiple commercial and business segments of United Technologies
Corporation and its subsidiaries, including six years in
Asia as the regional CFO for the
Otis Elevator Company. He held roles of increasing responsibility
and ultimately served as the Global CFO for both the Otis Elevator
Company and the Carrier Corporation from 2008 to 2019. George is
also on the Board of Directors for Trane Technologies plc, where he
serves on the Finance and Audit Committees. He also serves on the
Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Georgia. He holds a Bachelor of Science in
finance from Connecticut State University and a Master of Business
Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute.
About Norfolk Southern
Since 1827, Norfolk Southern
Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have safely
moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today,
it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight
transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability,
Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid approximately 15 million
tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated
team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from
agriculture to consumer goods, and Norfolk Southern originates more
automotive traffic than any other Class I Railroad. Norfolk
Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the
eastern U.S. It serves a majority of the country's population and
manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port
on the Atlantic coast as well as major ports in the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by
visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements in this communication are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe
harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, as amended. These statements relate to future events and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors
that may cause our actual results, costs, levels of activity, or
performance to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by any forward-looking statements. In some cases,
forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words
like "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan,"
"anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "project,"
"consider," "predict," "potential," "feel," or other comparable
terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements
on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates, beliefs, and
projections. While the Company believes these expectations,
assumptions, estimates, and projections are reasonable, such
forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known
and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors
or circumstances that are beyond the Company's control. These and
other important factors, including those discussed under "Risk
Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2023, as well as the
Company's subsequent filings with the SEC, may cause actual
results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The
forward-looking statements herein are made only as of the date they
were first issued, and unless otherwise required by applicable
securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation