Norfolk Southern shuffles senior leadership

Norfolk Southern will change up its senior management with the Oct. 1 retirement of longtime chairman Charles W. “Wick” Moorman.    James A. Squires, president and chief executive officer of North Southern, has been named chairman, effective Oct. 1.
   He replaces Charles W. “Wick” Moorman, who will step down as chairman, but serve as senior advisor to the CEO through Dec. 31, at which time he will retire as a Norfolk Southern employee.
   Squires joined Norfolk Southern in 1992 and served in numerous law, finance, and administration positions before being named president in 2013 and CEO in March 2015.
   Mark D. Manion, executive vice president and chief operating officer for the Class I railroad, also announced his plan to retire effective Feb. 1. He joined NS in 1975 as a management trainee and served in a range of operations positions. In 2004, he was named executive vice president of operations with responsibility for transportation, mechanical, engineering, safety and environmental.
   Replacing Manion as executive vice president and COO is Michael J. Wheeler. Before assuming new duties, however, Wheeler will serve as senior vice president operations from Oct. 1 to Jan. 31, 2016 and report to Manion. Wheeler joined NS in 1985 as a research engineer and has served as vice president of engineering since 2012.
   Meanwhile, Philip Merilli has replaced Wheeler as vice president of engineering. Merilli’s department is responsible for the construction, maintenance, and inspection of the rail network’s tracks, bridges, and signal systems. Merilli, who has served as assistant vice president maintenance of way and structures since 2013, joined an NS predecessor line in 1981 as an assistant roadmaster.
   Cindy C. Earhart has been appointed executive vice president administration and chief information officer. She assumes IT responsibility railroad following the Oct. 1 retirement of Deborah H. Butler. Earhart joined NS in 1985 as supervisor of subsidiary accounting. She served in key accounting and information technology positions before being named vice president of human resources in 2007 and executive vice president of administration in 2013.