NS Promotes Hudson, Gioe

Pictured: Norfolk Southern’s Floyd Hudson, Vice President Field Engagement (left) and Joe Gioe, Vice President Transportation.

Norfolk Southern (NS) has elevated Floyd Hudson to the newly created position of Vice President Field Engagement. Succeeding him as Vice President Transportation is Joe Gioe, the Class I railroad told Railway Age on Sept. 20.

Hudson, a nearly 20-year NS veteran, took on the Vice President Transportation role in 2022. He had served previously as General Manager of the railroad’s Southern Region.

In Hudson’s new position, “consistent with our Team of Teams philosophy, he will work across organizational boundaries to play an essential leadership role engaging our front-line railroaders for ideas on how to make Norfolk Southern better, identifying further opportunities to enhance working conditions for our colleagues in the field, and strengthening our safety and service culture,” NS told Railway Age. “Floyd’s leadership qualities, deep understanding of the railroad, and extensive relationships in crew rooms across Norfolk Southern make him the perfect leader for this new position.” He will report to Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer Annie Adams, who was selected as one of 10 influential leaders in 2021 by Railway Age subscribers.

“Thanks to our deep bench of talented railroaders,” NS said, Gioe will take over as Vice President Transportation, following his June appointment as Vice President Performance Excellence. Gioe will retain leadership of the Performance Excellence group, according to the railroad.

“Over the last year, we have successfully implemented our TOP|SPG operating plan, which balances service, productivity and growth,” NS reported. “Moving forward, our emphasis will be on building rigor into our processes and establishing a culture of continuous improvement and refinement. Joe is the right leader to continue moving our operations to the next level. He will continue to report to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Duncan.”

Both promotions were effective Sept. 16.

In other NS news, Phase 1 of the railroad’s three-phase, all-encompassing safety improvement program with Atkins Nuclear Secured (ANS) is complete. Phase 2, now under way and expected to be completed by the end of October, will be followed by a third and final phase, expected to last two two three years, NS told Railway Age earlier this month. The expected outcomes, NS said, are “measurable improvements in the NS safety culture and safety performance, including craft railroader/supervisor/manager/overall organization performance and engagement on safety; better organization focus on continuous improvement through implementation of a coordinated plan; identifying and working on problems while they are small in order to reduce the likelihood of problem recurrence and consequences; and strengthened organizational learning. These enhancements support NS’ objectives to be the gold standard for safety in the railroad industry, minimizing the risk of high significance events, and achieving operational excellence.”