(The following article by Chip Jones was posted on the Richmond Times-Dispatch website on February 1.)
RICHMOND, Va. — Michael J. Ward was given the throttle yesterday of Richmond-based CSX Corp., the nation’s third-largest railroad.
Ward’s appointment as chairman and chief executive came after CSX’s longtime chief, John W. Snow, was approved Thursday night as Treasury secretary.
“The board of directors has complete confidence in Michael Ward’s ability to lead the company successfully,” the board said.
Ward, 52, works out of the operating headquarters of CSX Transportation, located in Jacksonville, Fla., and has no plans to move to Richmond.
Asked whether this means the corporate headquarters is now in Florida, company spokeswoman Susan Wiles,
Ward said, “No. The headquarters of the corporation is determined by the board of directors, who have not acted in any way to change where the headquarters is located.”
Sources close to the company have reported for months that the CSX offices at 901 E. Cary St. would close after Snow departed. Fewer than 12 people work there now.
The closing of the local headquarters could be approved by the CSX board by mid-February, sources said.
Its loss will scratch one of the six area headquarters of Fortune 500 companies — a revenue-based distinction often used to tout the Richmond region.
In its announcement, the CSX board praised Snow for his “leadership and outstanding service & over the last quarter century.”
His departure from CSX will not come cheaply, though. Company officials said CSX will take a one-time charge of $15 million in the first quarter to cover final payouts to the new Treasury secretary.
“A significant portion” of the $15 million represents a lump-sum payment of Snow’s pension income accrued since 1977, according to Wiles.
The payment also will cover stock options, life insurance and deferred compensation due to Snow.
Ward’s new compensation package was not set by the CSX board. His revised pay and benefits will be disclosed in March when the company releases its proxy statement to shareholders.
According to CSX’s 2002 proxy, Ward received annual pay and bonus of $760,000 in 2001. He got other compensation of $221,683, restricted stock awards worth $5.3 million and options to buy 175,000 shares of stock.
Ward has been credited with helping CSX survive some rocky times during the past few years, including overcoming a federal safety audit and tackling operational meltdowns.
Last summer, Ward was named president of CSX after the company’s rail unit posted eight straight quarters of profit.
A native of Baltimore, Ward is a 1972 graduate of the University of Maryland. He received a master’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School in 1976.
Ward, who joined the company in 1977, has been executive vice president of operations, manager of Conrail merger planning, head of the railroad’s coal business unit and chief financial officer.