Norfolk Southern said Wednesday it has fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.
His ouster comes after two difficult years in the top job and just days after the company’s board announced it was him for alleged ethical lapses.
The Atlanta-based railroad said Shaw had an inappropriate consensual relationship with Norfolk Southern's chief legal officer, who was also terminated. Norfolk Southern promoted Chief Financial Officer Mark George to be the railroad's next CEO.
Shaw was leading Norfolk Southern in February 2023 when one of its trains , spilled toxic chemicals and caught fire in East Palestine, Ohio, the worst railroad disaster in the last decade. Then, activist investor Ancora Holdings tried to of the railroad earlier this year and fire Shaw.
He weathered and difficult community meetings after the East Palestine derailment, while promising to make Norfolk Southern the “gold standard for safety” in the industry. He also managed to not to back the majority of Ancora’s board nominees. Three of its nominees on the railroad’s board, but that wasn’t enough to give it control.
The derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border prompted the nation to re-examine railroad safety and led lawmakers and regulators to call for reforms. But those proposals have , and the industry has made only since the derailment, such as installing more trackside detectors to spot overheating bearings like the one that
The Norfolk Southern delivered after the derailment, combined with questions about Shaw’s strategy of keeping more workers on hand during a downturn, made the railroad ripe for pressure from an investor like Ancora.
The railroad's Chairman Claude Mongeau said, “The Board has full confidence in Mark and his ability to continue delivering on our commitments to shareholders and other stakeholders” despite having only worked on the railroad since 2019. Previously, George was CFO for air conditioning maker Carrier Corporation and Otis Elevator Company.
Mongeau said George will work with John Orr — the chief operating officer hired during its fight with Ancora — to continue improving the railroad's profits by cutting costs and getting more efficient.
“I look forward to my continued partnership with John and the entire (Norfolk Southern) team as we further our progress on optimizing operations and serving our customers, while creating a safe and satisfying workplace and delivering enhanced value for our employees, customers, shareholders, and communities,” George said in a statement.
Norfolk Southern is one of the six largest railroads in North America with tracks crisscrossing the Eastern United States.
Josh Funk, The Associated Press
