Norfolk Southern Corp.’s Chief Executive Officer Mark George says the railroad is ready for a fresh start after a painful 18-month period involving a train derailment, an activist proxy fight and the surprise ouster of his predecessor. 

“I’ll be honest with you: The 18 months has been brutal for our organization, for our employees,” George said Friday at a Morgan Stanley conference. “People are excited that we’re now turning the page.” 

George, who previously served as Norfolk Southern’s chief financial officer, abruptly took on the CEO job earlier this week after Alan Shaw was fired for having a relationship with the company’s chief legal officer. Shaw had been billed as the speaker at the conference before his dismissal. 

It was a tumultuous end of a tumultuous tenure. Norfolk Southern was pushed into the national spotlight after a fiery derailment in 2023 spewed toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. Shaw also was at the center of attention when activist investor Ancora Holdings Group led a campaign earlier this year aimed at ousting him and other members of the company’s board. 

While George is being promoted from within, he isn’t a Norfolk Southern lifer like Shaw was. He joined the Atlanta-based railroad in 2019 from the company now known as RTX Corp., where he served as CFO of the Otis elevator and Carrier climate businesses before their eventual spinoffs. 

George said he plans to draw on his experience with factory floor productivity and quality control strategies to improve Norfolk Southern’s operations. “The tolerance for poor performance inside of rails has always bothered me,” he said.