NFS CEO railroaded for running a train on chief legal counsel
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/11/business/norfolk-southern-ceo-fired/index.html
New YorkCNN —
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw was fired for cause by the railroad’s board for “engaging in a consensual relationship with the company’s chief legal officer,” who was also terminated, the railroad announced Wednesday evening.
A statement from the company on Wednesday said that Shaw had been dismissed “for cause,” which could prevent him from collecting the kind of exit package that CEOs often receive when shown the door.
The company originally disclosed that Shaw was the subject of an investigation on Sunday.
Shaw had been CEO of one of the nation’s four largest freight railroads for just over two years. But it had been a turbulent tenure that included contentious labor negotiations that nearly resulted in an economy-crippling strike, a major derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released tank cars full of toxic materials into a small Ohio town, sparking health concerns and complaints about continuing symptoms by some residents, and a proxy fight with an activist shareholder group who wanted Shaw replaced.
Shaw survived that shareholder vote, but could not survive the investigation into his personal behavior.
The company said Nabanita Nag has been terminated from her roles as executive vice president corporate affairs, chief legal officer and corporate secretary, effective immediately, in connection with the preliminary findings of the Board’s ongoing investigation. It announced it had picked CFO Mark George as the company’s new CEO.