JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation President Michael Ward was named president of the railroad’s parent company, CSX Corp. Inc., setting the stage for his election to the corporation’s top job next year and increasing the likelihood that it would move its headquarters to Jacksonville, the Florida Times-Union reports.
The announcement comes three months after Ward was named to the CSX board of directors. Industry analysts have said Ward is being positioned to succeed CSX Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John W. Snow, who is scheduled to retire next year.
Ward’s ascension to the corporation’s top job could prompt CSX to relocate its headquarters from Richmond, Va., to Jacksonville.
Ward nor Snow were in a board meeting all day yesterday and could be reached for comment, but in published reports, Ward has said it wouldn’t make sense to maintain a headquarters in Richmond, where the company has only 50 employees.
About 5,100 CSX employees work in the Jacksonville area.
CSXT spokeswoman Kathy Burns refused to confirm the accuracy of the reports yesterday and said the company has “no immediate plans to move its headquarters to Jacksonville.”
In a report published in April, Ward said no decision about moving would be made until Snow retired. However, one of the most telling indications of the company’s plans may occurred in May, when CSXT removed the word “transportation” from atop its Water Street building. Burns said changing the sign was a cost-cutting measure.
But others said it signals a move to relocate CSX headquarters along the St. Johns River. That could bode well for Jacksonville, community officials say. Kirk Wendland, executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, has said corporations tend to take a long-term approach in the cities where their headquarters are located by investing in public facilities, such as concert halls or stadiums.
Ward, 51, will continue to head CSXT in his new position, the company said yesterday in a news release. He also will lead CSX Intermodal and CSX Technology. Ward’s track record makes him an obvious choice to succeed Snow — and a comment by Snow yesterday suggested that.
“CSX today is very much a rail-based company,” he said in the news release, “and this appointment marks an important step in our process to assure a smooth leadership transition in the future.”
CSX set up its office in Richmond 22 years ago as a compromise between its two predecessor companies, Cleveland’s Chessie System Inc. and Jacksonville’s Seaboard Coast Line Industries Inc.
At least one industry expert said CSX is effectively operating out of Jacksonville already, and the official relocation of corporate headquarters would make little difference in the company’s daily activities.
The son of a Baltimore pool hall manager, Ward has been a steadying force for CSXT, the nation’s third-largest railroad. He started with the Chessie System in 1977, the year after he received a master’s degree from the Harvard Business School.
Ward later came to Jacksonville in 1995 to run the operations side of the railroad as an executive vice president.
He took over CSXT’s top position in November 2000 during a tumultuous time for the company.
The railroad was saddled with customer service problems resulting from the acquisition of 4,500 miles of track previously owned by Conrail. Then, it was cited by the Federal Railroad Administration for slack inspection procedures, track defects and other safety violations.
“Things had started to unravel on us,” Snow later said. “We had lost our way.”
But Ward guided CSXT back to health, and the railroad has since reported quarterly profits, even during a sluggish economy.
“Michael Ward has led an impressive turnaround at CSX Transportation since taking charge of rail operations in early 2000,” Snow said. “Rail service has improved dramatically, our business is growing and earnings are on the upswing. Importantly, the entire organization is aligned toward achieving ambitious goals.”