Norfolk Southern names new CEO

Norfolk Southern Corp. has named its current president James A. Squires as CEO, effective June 1. He will succeed Norfolk Southern CEO Charles W. “Wick” Moorman who will continue as the company’s executive chairman of the board of directors.

The company says the change in leadership is part of its planned succession process. When Squires takes over as CEO, he will continue to serve as Norfolk Southern’s president.

“Building on our record results in 2014, we are entering a great new time of performance and possibilities,” Moorman said in a statement. “Thanks to the dedication of Norfolk Southern people, the support of our customers and business partners, and the outstanding leadership team in place at Norfolk Southern – led by Jim Squires – I am confident that the company is poised for continued growth, success and shareholder value creation.”   

Squires, 53, joined Norfolk Southern in 1992. Prior to that, he served in several legal positions before being named Norfolk Southern’s vice president law in 2003, senior vice president law in 2004, senior vice president financial planning in 2006, executive vice president finance in 2007, executive vice president administration in 2012, and president in 2013.

Squires graduated from Amherst College with a bachelor of arts in Ancient Greek in 1983. After graduating he served as an Amherst-Doshisha Fellow at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. He then served in the U.S. Army for four years and in 1992, he received a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.

This year he was named to Virginia Business' list of business leaders making their mark in the state. He also was a recipient of the magazine's CFO Award for Publicly Traded Companies in Virginia in 2011. Squires also served as chairman of Virginia's Transportation Accountability Commission under former Gov. Tim Kaine.

Norfolk Southern’s Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia. It serves every major container port in the eastern United States and provides connections to other rail carriers.