Hunter Harrison. dead at 73…passed away on Saturday, December16th, 2017, very shortly after going on medical leave. Speculation is that his death may yet save CSX from the disaster he has created there. NS has been overwhelmed lately with business leaving CSX, due to poor customer service caused at CSX by HH.
This story is bound to develop into a major news story, for the next week or three…
Fred Mills
Morning Fred,
I read of his demise, elsewhere and thought the same thing. Not wishing ill of anyone, okay there are a few exceptions, I do think this may be best for CSX.
I will refrain from making too many comments, but the CEO of CSX had many under him that followed his practices of “precision railroading”. So while HH may have passed, I think that CSX is still in “precision railroading” for a long haul. CN is just now starting to recover from the mess of HH.
I just don’t understand why the top people in some companies don’t understand that if they don’t take care of their customers, someone else will.
I worked for several companies that threw away large accounts because of the attitude of “well its only”…“so we don’t care.”
Maynard, ya gotta understand…it’s all about the stock holders. Customers and employees are an inconvenience to appeasing the stockholders.
Dude …Hunters dead man
Gota Say Bob C. really hit the nail on the head.
Al P.
Let’s go see what some railway industry news publications might have out on short notice.
http://www.railwaygazette.com/ - nothing right now
http://www.railway-technology.com/ - seems to be nothing yet
http://www.railjournal.com/ - also seems to be nothing yet
http://www.railwayage.com/ - ah, they have an article.
http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/william-vantuono/e-hunter-harrison-1944-2017.html
I think Keith Creel, whom Hunter mentored for many years, expressed it best in these heartfelt words:
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“While Hunter will be remembered in history books as the best railroader there was, I will remember him first as a friend with a loving and giving heart, then as a tremendous, visionary leader who always challenged the status quo. His greatest legacy is not the railroads he changed for the better, …
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“The warning signs of a fragile CSX investment bubble were not Hunter’s health,” says Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner, whose career has included executive posts at the Association of American Railroads and the largest rail labor union, and a White House appointment to a senior-staff post at the Surface Transportation Board. “They were that his reputation was elevated to Brobdingnagian status through his superintending of two Canadian railroads that were a combination of relatively straight east-west lines and their funnel-like feeding into the relatively straight north-south Illinois Central that he also led. His so-called Precision Scheduled Railroading had not been tested on the significantly more complex spaghetti-like network of American eastern railroads.
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I have often wondered why Hunter had moved so fast—undoubtedly way too fast. Was it pressure from investors to deliver a quick return? I don’t believe so. Rather, I think deep down, Hunter may have had a feeling his days were numbered (people can sense these things sometimes), and he wanted to ensure one more success before it was too late. Under much better health circumstances, I think Hunter’s approach to making changes at CSX would have been more measured, less disruptive.
From Wall Street Journal;
"Mr. Harrison’s sudden death Saturday raises questions about the board’s decision to wager its future on the 73-year-old and an activist investor’s high stakes campaign earlier this year to shake up the CSX board and bring in Mr. Harrison as chief executive.
“It was a classic triumph of short-term thinking over long-term sustainability,” said Renny Ponvert, CEO of Management CV Inc., which analyzes top hires for money managers. The board, he said, “took a high-beta risk that appeared to pay off for the first six months. Now, they’re stuck with a consequence that could expose long-term shareholders.”
CSX, based in Jacksonville, Fla., said it would stick with Mr. Harrison’s strategy and was confident in the executive team he left behind.
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Hiring a sick executive “was a mistake,’’ said a manager with one institutional investor, whose firm sold its CSX stake after the vote due to concerns over Mr. Harrison’s health and directors’ refusal to disclose details. ”You take a calculated risk and he died.’’"
Al Pomeroy said:
Gota Say Bob C. really hit the nail on the head.
Al P.
Agreed
Forrest Scott Wood said:
From Wall Street Journal…“You take a calculated risk and he died.’’”
You take a calculated risk, and you die. Wow. This sounds a little too familiar for comfort.
I would not hold my breath on CSX turning around any time soon. CSX appointed James Foote to COO who is a very good friend of Hunter and praised his work. Later RJD
Thursday, December 21, 2017
CSX: Illinois Central Version 2.0?
Written by Art Miller
The death of E. Hunter Harrison caught much of the railroad industry by surprise. His passing guaranteed that CSX’s corporate makeover will be the rail industry business news story of 2017. It may also be the biggest rail industry story for several years to come.
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A re-examination of the Harry Bruce-initiated and Harrison-completed business strategy at IC may once again prove that the past indeed is a prologue. Indeed, when you look behind the headlines and into the history books, there are remarkable similarities between CSX’s 2017 strategy and that of the ICG/IC in the mid-1980s and 1990s.
Harry Bruce’s Railroad Transformation Strategy Version 1.0 included controversial line sales, service changes, and a ferocious abandonment blitzkrieg that surprised customers, irritated local and state governments, caught economic development agencies off-guard, and left the Interstate Commerce Commission with few capabilities to preserve rural and light-density rail service. From three decades ago, here’s a look back at what Bruce started and Harrison finished.
Everything is for sale
Bruce and ICG, and later Harrison at IC, operated under a business strategy that said “everything is for sale at the right price.” In a few short years, ICG spun off a half-dozen new regional and a dozen new short line railroads. Some spin-offs, like MidSouth Rail, were successful. Some, like the Gulf & Mississippi, were disasters.
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http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/art-miller/csx-illinois-central-version-20.html