G&W’s Hellmann Railroader of the Year

The 55th annual recipient of Railway Age’s Railroader of the Year Award is Genesee & Wyoming Inc. Chairman, President and CEO John C. “Jack” Hellmann, leader of the world’s largest short line and regional railroad holding company, with 122 properties in five countries operating more than 15,000 miles of rail lines.

At 47, Hellmann is among the industry’s youngest chief executives. Yet, he is a long-time railroader, with international experience as well as expertise in finance and business development. Hellmann oversees a growing company that in recent years has invested more than $2 billion in acquisitions and operating agreements. He has also been expanding the company into related transportation markets.

Hellmann joined Genesee & Wyoming in January 2000 and served as Chief Financial Officer through April 2005. He was named President in May 2005, joined the Board of Directors in 2006, and became CEO in June 2007, succeeding Mortimer B. Fuller III. Hellmann was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors in May 2017 following the retirement of Fuller, who had served as Chairman since 1977. Fuller is a great-grandson of Edward L. Fuller, who founded the 14.5-mile Genesee &Wyoming Railroad Co. in 1899.

Previously, Hellman worked in investment banking at Lehman Brothers, Inc., in the Emerging Communications Group, and at Schroder & Co. Inc., in the Transportation Group. He also worked for Weyerhaeuser Co. in Japan and the People’s Republic of China. Hellmann is a graduate of Princeton University and received an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Hellmann is a devoted family man. With his wife Betsy, an attorney, he is the father of three young children. An engaging, down-to-earth personality, Hellmann combines boundless energy and genuine enthusiasm for railroading with a love of learning and a natural curiosity shaped by years of world travel and exposure to different cultures.

Railway Age will formally present Jack Hellmann with the Railroader of the Year Award at the Union League Club of Chicago on March 13, 2018, where the presentation has traditionally taken place during the Western Railway Club dinner.

Hellmann is also a featured speaker at Railway Age’s inaugural Rail Freight Business Development Conference, also on March 13 at the Union League Club of Chicago. Click here for further details and to register.

Click HERE to read Railway Age’s cover story on Jack Hellmann in the digital edition of the January issue.

Click HERE to see Jack Hellman’s interview with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono.

Railway Age’s Railroader of the Year Award

The Railroader of the Year Award was initiated by Modern Railroads magazine in 1964 as the “Man of the Year” award. Railway Age acquired Modern Railroads in 1991 and has presented the award annually since then.

• 1964: D. W. Brosnan, Southern Railway System

• 1965: Stuart T. Saunders, Pennsylvania Railroad Co.

• 1966: Stuart T. Saunders, Pennsylvania Railroad Co.

• 1967: Louis W. Menk, Northern Pacific Railway

• 1968: William B. Johnson, Illinois Central Railroad

• 1969: John W. Barriger, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad

• 1970: John S. Reed, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway

• 1971: Jervis Langdon, Jr., Penn Central Transportation Co.

• 1972: Charles Luna, United Transportation Union

• 1973: James B. Germany, Southern Pacific Transportation Co.

• 1974: L. Stanley Crane, Southern Railway System

• 1975: Frank E. Barnett, Union Pacific Railroad

• 1976: Dr. William J. Harris, Jr., Association of American Railroads

• 1977: Edward G. Jordan, Conrail

• 1978: Robert M. Brown, Union Pacific Railroad

• 1979: Theodore C. Lutz, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

• 1980: John G. German, Missouri Pacific Railroad Co.

• 1981: Lawrence Cena, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway

• 1982: A. Paul Funkhouser, Family Lines Rail System

• 1983: L. Stanley Crane, Conrail

• 1984: Hays T. Watkins, CSX Corp.

• 1985: John L. Cann, Canadian National

• 1986: Raymond C. Burton, Jr., Trailer Train Co.

• 1987: Willis B. Kyle, Kyle Railways

• 1988: Darius W. Gaskins, Jr., Burlington Northern

• 1989: W. Graham Claytor, Jr., Amtrak

• 1990: Arnold B. McKinnon, Norfolk Southern Corp.

• 1991: Mike Walsh, Union Pacific Railroad

• 1992: William H. Dempsey, Association of American Railroads

• 1993: Raymond C. Burton, Jr., TTX Co.

• 1994: L. S. “Jake” Jacobson, Copper Basin Railway

• 1995: Edwin Moyers, Southern Pacific Transportation Co.

• 1996: Robert D. Krebs, AT&SF, and Gerald Grinstein, Burlington Northern

• 1997: Paul M. Tellier, Canadian National

• 1998: David R. Goode, Norfolk Southern

• 1999: Edward A. Burkhardt, Wisconsin Central Transportation Co.

• 2000: The Railroad Worker (“Railroader of the Century”)

• 2001: Michael R. Haverty, Kansas City Southern Railway

• 2002: E. Hunter Harrison, Canadian National/Illinois Central

• 2003: Richard K. Davidson, Union Pacific Railroad

• 2004: Robert J. Ritchie, Canadian Pacific Railway

• 2005: David R. Goode, Norfolk Southern

• 2006: Richard F. Timmons, American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association

• 2007: William E. Wimmer, Union Pacific Railroad

• 2008: Stephen C. Tobias, Norfolk Southern

• 2009: Michael J. Ward, CSX

• 2010: Matthew K. Rose, BNSF

• 2011: Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern

• 2012: David L. Starling, Kansas City Southern

• 2013: James R. Young, Union Pacific

• 2014: Joseph H. Boardman, Amtrak

• 2015: E. Hunter Harrison, Canadian Pacific

• 2016: Carl R. Ice, BNSF Railway

• 2017: Thomas F. Prendergast, New York MTA

• 2018: John C. Hellmann, Genesee & Wyoming