In his prior position as Vice President and General Manager, Hawthorne was responsible for all technical and operational functions of New York Air Brake and its subsidiaries—Knorr Brake Limited (KBL) in Kingston, Ontario; Train Dynamic Systems (TDS) in Irving, Tex.; Anchor Brake Shoe in West Chicago, Ill.; Kansas City Service Center in Riverside, Mo.; and Premtec in China Grove, N.C.

Hawthorne joined the company in 1995, and became Director of Train Dynamic Systems (TDS), a division of New York Air Brake, in 2001. In January 2012, he was promoted to Vice President and General Manager. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University, an M.S. in Control Systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an M.B.A. from Syracuse University.

“Mike brings the energy of a focused leader possessing both technical and business skills to his new position,” said Paul Morgan. “He is an innovator with an established track record of identifying opportunities and converting concepts into profitable product offerings.” Hawthorne accepted a Knorr Excellence Award on behalf of TDS at the March 2012 World Meeting of Knorr-Bremse in Munich.

New York Air Brake Corporation is a leading supplier to the freight railroad industry of air brake control systems and components, electronically controlled braking systems, foundation brakes, training simulators, and train handling systems.