CSX
CSX on Feb. 3 reported that Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Diana Sorfleet will retire. Riz Chand, it said, will become Chief Human Resources Officer, effective Feb. 23, 2026.
Sorfleet retires after nearly 15 years of service. She “played a central role in shaping the company’s people strategy and strengthening its culture,” and helped guide it through organizational changes, including the transition of four CEOs, according to CSX.
Sorfleet joined the Class I railroad in June 2011 after many years in human resources with Exelon, where she rose to Vice President for Diversity and Development. In 2018, she was promoted to her current role, following service as Chief Human Resources Officer.
Sorfleet is a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications. Subsequently she earned a master’s degree in management and human resources from National Louis University, as well as a master’s degree in business administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
“Throughout her tenure, Diana has been a trusted steward of our culture,” said CSX President and CEO Steve Angel, who took on the leadership role in September 2025, following Joe Hinrichs’ departure. “Her leadership, strategic insight, and unwavering commitment to advancing CSX’s long-term objectives have strengthened the organization. We are grateful for her service and wish her the best in her next chapter.”
Based in Jacksonville, Fla., Chand will oversee Human Resources, Total Rewards, People Systems, and Occupational Health Compliance when he takes on his new role at CSX. He currently serves AEA Investors, a mid-market private equity firm, as Chief Talent Officer and Operating Partner. His background includes senior human resources leadership positions at BNSF, Energy Future Holdings, Kennametal, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Aetna International, as well as early-career work with PepsiCo Foods, The Hay Group, and Schlumberger.
Chand holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.
“We are pleased to welcome Riz to CSX,” Steve Angel said. “He is an exceptional leader with a proven track record of driving talent development and organizational performance. I look forward to partnering with Riz in building a high-performance culture that will strengthen our company and ensure its continued success.”
Further Reading:
Telos Advisers
Telos Advisers, a national advisory firm specializing in transportation and infrastructure projects, has appointed Stephen Gardner as a Strategic Advisory Board Member. His key areas of focus will include rail and transit policy; funding strategy; customer experience; and service planning, safety and network development.
Gardner served most recently as CEO of Amtrak, before stepping down in March 2025. He was appointed to lead “America’s Railroad” in 2022, succeeding William J. Flynn and following service as President since 2020. Previously, Gardner was Executive Vice President/Chief Operating and Commercial Officer (May 2019-November 2020) and held several other executive positions in policy development, infrastructure investment, technology planning, and marketing. Before joining Amtrak in 2009, he spent nearly a decade on Capitol Hill working on surface transportation policy. Railway Age readers named Gardner one of 10 Influential Leaders in 2022.
“Stephen is a seasoned transportation expert with deep experience in railroading and federal transportation policy who has managed complex organizations and led one of the largest capital programs in the United States,” said Eric Daleo and Megan Strickland Co-Founders of Newark, N.J.-based Telos Advisers. “We’re excited to welcome him to Telos and to leverage his expertise as we continue to support clients navigating critical infrastructure and investment initiatives.”
“I’m excited to join Telos’s Advisory Board and the committed group of seasoned transportation leaders and experts they’ve gathered to help clients take on challenging projects and achieve major goals,” Gardner said. “In an increasingly complex landscape, Telos has the know-how and unique capacity to support clients through rapid change, major transactions, and game-changing deals.”
Separately, Bruce Robinson, former Associate Administrator at the Federal Transit Administration, recently signed on as Senior Director of Telos Advisers.
NYMTA
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber on Feb. 2 reported appointing Jessie Lazarus to build and lead a new organization that directs rolling stock strategy and “ensures dedicated attention to the acquisition and lifetime costs for the MTA’s most strategic assets, including buses, subway cars, and commuter rail trains.” As Chief of the new Rolling Stock Program, Lazarus and her team will manage the $12 billion dollar investment from the 2025-2029 Capital Plan to replace the MTA’s aging fleets. Together, they will work closely with Lieber, agency presidents, and the Chief Financial Officer “to pursue a focused, long-term strategy to modernize terms and conditions, apply aggressive performance-based fleet specifications, harness data to inform acquisition choices, increase supplier competition, achieve the best value for these strategic assets over their lifetime, and generate economic development benefits by encouraging domestic manufacturing,” according to MTA.
Lazarus signed on with MTA in 2023 and has served as Deputy Chief of Commercial Ventures, responsible for strategic, commercial partnerships that are said to “enhance the MTA’s financial position and strengthen service offerings,” which include the transition from MetroCard to tap-and-ride.
Lazarus joined MTA from Toyota, by way of CARMERA, a spatial AI company that she helped lead through acquisition by Toyota in 2021. As Vice President of Go-to-Market, she was responsible for building the company’s partnerships with OEM, mapping, and technology stakeholders. Prior to joining CARMERA, Lazarus was Chief Digital Officer for the City of New York. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and Harvard Business School.
“With billions of dollars set aside for new subway cars, commuter trains, and buses in the new capital plan, we need strong leadership driving the decision-making,” Janno Lieber said. “Jessie’s no stranger to big projects and complex commercial negotiations, and I have total confidence in her ability to deliver the best deal for the MTA and our millions of daily riders.”
“The subway cars, buses, and commuter trains that New York grew up on belong to a different era,” Jessie Lazarus said. “The new Rolling Stock Program will make sure the MTA’s multibillion dollar commitment to the future of our transit system gives New Yorkers a smoother, greener, faster, more cost-efficient ride to explore the amazing places the MTA can take them for generations to come.”
Further Reading:
- Watch: NYMTA Launches Railcar Acceptance, Testing Facility
- Kawasaki to Supply 378 More ‘B’ Division Cars to NYCT
- MTA 2025–2029 Capital Plan Gets Greenlight
- NY Governor Signs FY26 State Budget Into Law
NCTD
Baker Alloush is the new Director of Facilities at NCTD, which operates Coaster commuter rail, Sprinter hybrid rail, Breeze bus, Flex on-demand, and Lift paratransit services. He has more than 15 years of experience in facilities and maintenance operations management, leading initiatives in formulating, tracking, facilitating, and closing work orders involving large-scale departmental moves and technology updates.
Prior to joining NCTD, Alloush was Director of Facilities and Maintenance Operations at Coachella Valley Unified School District. He earned a bachelor’s in business administration and operational management from California State University, Long Beach, and holds various certifications, including Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) Supervisor, Hazmat Waste, and Construction Project Management.
“I am excited to welcome Baker Alloush to the NCTD family,” said Alex Denis, NCTD Chief Operating Officer–General Services. “Baker brings extensive experience in public sector facility management and planning, which will be instrumental in ensuring our environments are responsive to customer needs and empower our teams to thrive.”
“It is a privilege to be a part of the NCTD team, and I am committed to advancing NCTD’s mission of achieving organizational and operational excellence,” Alloush said.
Separately, NCTD earlier this year promoted Ioni Tcholakova to Director of Service Planning, and last year celebrated 50 years of service.
KLW
Tennessee-based KLW has named Shane Picklesimer as Chief Commercial Officer. He will lead commercial strategy, including sales, customer engagement, and market development, with a focus on “disciplined growth, long-term market alignment, and commercial support for procurement and sourcing activities,” according to the company, which was established in 1998 by Gulf and Ohio Railways, Inc., and now serves Class I railroads and a range of rail and industrial customers as a remanufacturer of advanced locomotive platforms and a provider of maintenance services.
Picklesimer has worked with customers across the rail industry, including Class I’s, short lines and regionals, transit agencies, utilities, and industrial customers. He was most recently a sales leader/key account manager at A. Stucki Company.
“Our customers share common priorities around reliability, lifecycle value, and long-term performance,” KLW CEO Greg Hall said. “Shane brings a practical approach that supports how customers evaluate equipment, technology, and long-term partnerships.”
“My focus is on strengthening customer engagement across rail, transit, utility, and industrial markets, while introducing platforms, including our battery hybrid strategy, that support reliability, lifecycle value, and next-generation technology adoption,” Picklesimer said.
