FORT WORTH, Texas — Charles L. Schultz, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE: BNI – News; BNSF), today announced his intention to retire from BNSF in mid-2003. Schultz has been executive vice president and chief marketing officer since June 1999 and has been with the company for more than 32 years.
According to Schultz, “I had always intended to retire at age 55. Next May, I’ll be 56. However, before I retire, I wanted to put in place critical elements for the on-going success of the marketing department. Over the past few years, we have developed a team environment across the entire marketing organization, where developmental experiences in different business units are now valued. We also have established a common set of business processes and we are implementing a pricing discipline that extracts more value for our products. The support I have received over the years from my co-workers has made my railroad career very rewarding.”
In commenting on Schultz’s announcement, Matt Rose, BNSF’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “I applaud Chuck for his many contributions over a stellar 32-year career with BNSF and the former Santa Fe. Chuck has always been committed to continuous improvement in every job he has held with the Company, and he is a great example of a leader who models the way.
“Chuck has been instrumental in growing BNSF’s intermodal business, which is recognized as the industry leader. In the early days of his career, he initiated the Activity Based Costing (ABC) system when he formed and led the Industrial Engineering function. ABC is one of BNSF’s critical disciplines and is considered the most advanced system of its kind in the industry. As Chief Information Officer for the former Santa Fe, Chuck oversaw the development of the Transportation Support System (TSS) and the version BNSF uses today is considered ‘best in class.’
“Consistent with our Leadership Model,” Rose pointed out, “Chuck has always made development a priority for his team. We appreciate the talent he has developed and the people he has brought into the company. I also appreciate the fact that Chuck has agreed to remain with BNSF for a transition period to ensure that we don’t miss a beat with our customers and all of the growth initiatives currently under way.”
Through its subsidiary, The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, BNSF operates one of the largest rail networks in North America, with 33,000 route miles of track covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com . The railway moves more intermodal traffic than any other rail system in the world, is America’s largest grain-hauling railroad, transports the mineral components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough coal to generate more than 10 percent of the electricity produced in the United States.