NS’s Adams Earns ‘Women of Influence’ Award

Atlanta Business Chronicle selected 21 local businesswomen for its annual “Women of Influence” awards. Among the honorees: Norfolk Southern (NS) Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer Annie Adams (pictured fourth from left). (Photograph Courtesy of NS, via LinkedIn)

Norfolk Southern (NS) Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer Annie Adams has been recognized as one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Women of Influence” for 2022.

Atlanta Business Chronicle on Oct. 13 presented 21 Women of Influence awards to local women “who have made significant strides in their careers, are making a difference in their communities, blazing a trail for others, and leaving an indelible mark on the Atlanta business community.”

Annie Adams, of Atlanta-based NS, “is the visionary leader at the heart of NS’ transformational success,” the Class I railroad said in a congratulatory LinkedIn post on Oct. 15. “Her passion for advancing sustainability initiatives and driving technological innovation across our organization has propelled our progress.”

Adams and the other honorees shared tips with the Chronicle for “excelling in leadership positions and how they empower their employees.” Her leadership and teamwork skills began on the soccer field at Davidson College, which she leveraged to help overcome pandemic-related challenges at the railroad.

“There are so many leadership lessons to be learned on the playing field,” Adams told the Chronicle. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts—how energizing it can be to be a part of an effort like that.”

Adams—selected as one of 10 influential leaders for 2021 by Railway Age subscribers—joined NS in 2001, rising through the human resources and planning ranks. Appointed Vice President Human Resources in 2016, she was charged with developing and executing talent strategies and employee engagement initiatives. 

Adams took on her current role in 2019, with responsibility for Information Technology, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Corporate Communications, Sustainability, and Corporate Giving. She has headed up many efforts including the Digital | NS initiative as well as the railroad’s recent corporate headquarters’ relocation from Norfolk, Va., to Atlanta.

The other honorees are:

• Catherine Brewton, Vice President, Broadcast Music Inc
• Monetha Cobb, Regional Managing Director and Senior Vice President, Franklin Street
• Martina Edwards, Chief of Strategic Partnerships, ACE | Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc.
• Tina Fernandez, CEO, Achieve Atlanta
• Chanel Frazier, Managing Director, Global Head of Business Strategy for the Portfolio Management Group (PMG) and Head of the Atlanta Innovation Hub, BlackRock 
• Shannon Faught, Chief Commercial Officer, Alora Pharmaceuticals. LLC
• Susan Gambardella, President, North America, Kimberly-Clark Professional
• Karen Hatcher, CEO and Head Broker, Sovereign Realty & Management
• Naima Judge, Managing Director and Market Investment Executive, Bank of America Private Bank
• Nancy Juneau, CEO, Juneau Construction Company
• Sonjui Kumar, Founding Partner, Kumar, Prabhu, Patel & Banerjee, LLC 
• Beth Lowry, President, Holder Construction
• Jennifer McKeehan, Senior Vice President, End to End Delivery, Walmart
• Victoria Seals, President, Atlanta Technical College
• Kathy Waller, Executive Director, Atlanta Committee for Progress
• Dawn Whaley, President and Chief Marketing Officer, Sharecare
• Joy Wilder Lybeer, Chief Revenue Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships, Equifax 
• Annette Michelle Willis, Partner, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
• Sally Yates, Partner, King & Spalding LLP
• Jenny Pruitt, Executive Chairman and Founder, Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, received the Chronicle’s Lifetime Achievement Award