JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Michael Ward, president of Jacksonville’s CSX Transportation, is on Time magazine’s list of people to watch in international business, the Florida Times-Union reports.
The magazine’s Feb. 25 subscriber-only issue cites Ward as a steadying force for CSXT, the nation’s third-largest railroad. His success at acquiring 4,500 miles of Conrail’s track combined with the resolution of safety issues raised by the Federal Railroad Administration are noted in the piece.
Time doesn’t ignore the bottom line, though. The magazine cites CSXT’s $65 million profit during the fourth quarter despite the sluggish economy.
Ward, a Baltimore native, took over CSXT’s top position in November 2000 after being with the company since since 1977.
He was appointed during one the company’s darkest periods. The railroad was reeling from a backlog of customer service problems resulting from the Conrail acquisition, and the Railroad Administration was investigating the condition of some of CSXT’s tracks and the company’s inspection procedures.
But the railroad has since made a turnaround.
The latest three-month period was the seventh consecutive quarter CSXT reported earnings exceeding the previous year’s earnings. Also, the company’s surface transportation division, which include the rail and intermodal units, had its strongest earnings since the first quarter of 1999.