(Source: Associated Press, July 26, 2023)
Union Pacific has hired the CEO candidate favored by a hedge fund that’s been pressuring the railroad to improve amid disappointing results driven by weakening consumer demand and higher labor costs. The Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad said its former chief operating officer Jim Vena will take over as CEO next month. Soroban Capital Partners, a hedge fund that holds a $1.6 billion stake in Union Pacific, had been urging the railroad to hire Vena because of his expertise in streamlining operations. The president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Eddie Hall, was operating UP trains during Vena’s previous stint with the railroad, and he said he hopes the new CEO is willing to temper his approach now. “We would like to see continued progress, including necessary changes to the precision scheduled railroading operating model,” Hall said. “Few people alive know more about PSR than Vena. He should be fully aware of its failings. If not, rest assured, we will make him aware.”
Full story: Associated Press