Short line operators tap new commercial strategy executives

Railcars sit on track. (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

Two North American short line operators have announced new executive appointments. The leaders will focus on developing commercial strategies.

OmniTRAX appoints senior vice president of marketing and commercial strategy

Denver-based short line operator OmniTRAX, an affiliate of The Broe Group, is hiring Rob Russell as senior vice president of marketing and commercial strategy. He will report to Chief Strategy Officer Pierre-Luc Mathieu.

Russell is a rail industry veteran of nearly 20 years, and he served most recently as president of   Progressive Rail, a short line operator with 13 properties across the U.S. Before joining Progressive Rail, Russell worked for 16 years at Union Pacific, where he served across the finance, operating and commercial departments. His final role at UP was as an assistant vice president for network, economic and industrial development.

Russell also served as a U.S. Navy civil engineer for six years, reaching the rank of lieutenant.

“Rob’s experience in financial, business strategy, operational and logistics functions will bolster our commercial efforts from day one. We are excited to have him join our leadership team,” said OmniTRAX CEO Kevin Shuba.

R.J. Corman hires new vice president for commercial strategy and yield management: Railway Age

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R.J. Corman, a rail services provider and short line operator headquartered in Nicholasville, Kentucky, recently tapped Alín Campián as vice president of commercial strategy and yield management.

Campián is a business development and finance leader with more than 15 years of experience in maximizing return on investment in infrastructure, logistics and transportation.

He’s held positions with Steel River Transport Ventures, Patriot Rail Co., Florida East Coast Railway and CSX Transportation. Campián has experience and professional expertise in asset yield management and optimization yield maximization, merger and acquisition strategy, pricing and profitability management, quantitative market analysis and segmentation, and strategic pricing and product positioning.

“We are excited to have Alín join us at R.J. Corman,” said Ray Goss, R.J. Corman Railroad Co. president. “He is a highly talented individual who will be a great complement to our leadership team. Alín will work closely with our customers and management team to develop solutions for their needs as well as analyze traffic to create efficiencies for our company and customers. His experience will add value to our operations on multiple levels.”

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Joanna Marsh

Joanna is a Washington, DC-based writer covering the freight railroad industry. She has worked for Argus Media as a contributing reporter for Argus Rail Business and as a market reporter for Argus Coal Daily.