Tekorius Promoted to GBRX President, COO
Written by Andrew Corselli
The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (GBRX) promoted Lorie Tekorius from Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer to President and COO, with expanded responsibilities.
Tekorius will lead GBRX’s strategic planning; its wheels, repair and parts business unit; and its accounting, finance, human resources and global corporate health, safety and security functions, continuing to report to William A. Furman, Chairman and CEO. As President, Tekorius also assumes additional management responsibilities at the direction of the CEO. She continues as chair of GBRX’s executive management committee, composed of its senior management team.
Furman will retain oversight of the Commercial, Manufacturing and International business units, along with the corporate legal, communications and public affairs functions.
Tekorius, 52, has been with GBRX for 24 years in various operating and financial capacities. Prior to her appointment as COO, she served as CFO and has held various responsibilities at GBRX and its affiliates including manufacturing scheduling, strategic planning and other roles interfacing with the Commercial and Manufacturing units.
Tekorius was appointed CFO in 2016, EVP and chair of the executive committee in 2017, and COO in 2018. In 2018 she was recognized by the Portland Business Journal for her corporate and community work as Oregon’s “CFO of the Year—Public Company Category”. Tekorius was also recognized by Railway Age as one of 14 “Women in Rail” award winners, honoring women from freight, transit, supplier and trade organizations for leadership in the rail industry and within their communities.
Tekorius has a degree in accounting from Texas A&M University and began her professional career with Coopers & Lybrand.
“Lorie’s successive advancements in management at Greenbrier are indicative of the commitment our Board and management team has made to talent development throughout the organization,” Furman said. “During her more than two decades of service to Greenbrier, Lorie has willingly accepted and excelled when asked to take on additional duties. She has been a valuable and effective leader in her role as COO and carries more responsibility as President and COO. The promotion announced today demonstrates Greenbrier’s emphasis on growing from within as we continue to plan our future. In her enhanced role, Lorie will continue to focus on teamwork across our organization in pursuit of shared missions and objectives as the path to sustainable long-term success and shareholder value. I recognize the continued contributions of all of our management team to achieving the four pillars of our strategy: to grow at scale; to concentrate on our core business of Engineering, Manufacturing, Commercial and Leasing; to develop a healthy and balanced international business for market diversity; and to create a strong external and internal talent pipeline.”
“Looking back over my career, I am honored to have participated in a remarkable growth story at Greenbrier,” Tekorius said. “Over the past six years Greenbrier has dramatically increased its scale, revenue and diversity of product offerings. We have achieved this while growing market share, strengthening our balance sheet, diversifying our workforce and producing sustained profitability. Looking ahead, I am confident we can deliver on our commitments to all our stakeholders as we help Greenbrier advance. I am grateful for the confidence Bill and Greenbrier’s Board have placed in me and our entire management team. Together we will continue to do great things, with an emphasis on creating shareholder value that also balances the interests of customers, suppliers, employees and communities. These are all components of a principled and ethical approach to business that supports growth with integrity.”
