Harrison on medical leave, CSX names Foote acting CEO

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Written by: Stuart Chirls, Senior Editor
CSX Corp. said that Chief Executive Officer and President E. Hunter Harrison is on medical leave due to unexpected complications from a recent illness.

The Board of Directors has named Chief Operating Officer James M. Foote as acting CEO of the Jacksonville-based company, and at the same time emphasized that it is well on the way to following through on Harrison’s Precision Scheduled Railroading operating plan.

The company did not offer further details on Harrison’s condition. He has been suffering from emphysema and requires supplemental oxygen.

“On behalf of the Board and the entire CSX family, I want to express that our thoughts are with Mr. Harrison and his family,” said CSX Chairman Edward J. Kelly III, in a statement.

“Hunter is a good friend and has been a colleague of mine for many years. He is an icon in the industry and we pray for his speedy recovery,” said Foote. “I have been following the CSX story very closely since January, but did not realize just how much progress Hunter and CSX’s able team have made replicating the transformation we effected at Canadian National some years ago.

“I believe that the battleship has turned, the Precision Scheduled Railroading framework has been put into place, and the company has amassed the critical talent – through education of the internal team and supplementation with a complement of strong PSR operating veterans and a strongly supportive Board – sufficient to follow through and execute on the PSR operating plan. Because the team has implemented a foundation consistent with Hunter’s vision, I do not see any reason to diminish our expectations concerning the pace and magnitude of our future progress.”

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I'm bumping this up because I read on Altamont Press a WSJ piece stating that E. Hunter Harrison has passed away. No other info.