PH
PH on July 10 announced the election of former employee Jean Savage to its Board of Directors. Since 2020, she has led railcar manufacturer and lessor Trinity Industries as President and CEO. Savage also serves on the Trinity Board and was part of the WestRock Company Board from Feb. 1, 2022, to July 5, 2024. Previously, she was Vice President, Surface Mining and Technology for Caterpillar Inc., spending 17 years in a variety of senior leadership positions that spanned operations, technology and innovation, and quality and continuous improvement. Prior to that, she held a variety of engineering and general manager roles during a 14-year career with PH. Savage began her career as an intelligence officer with the U.S. Army Reserves.
“Jean brings significant executive leadership experience in the industrial, engineering and transportation sectors,” PH Chairman and CEO Jenny Parmentier said. “She is a welcome addition to the Board offering deep expertise in areas of strategic importance to us. Jean has a demonstrated track record of success leading global advanced manufacturing operations and brings valuable knowledge, including experience with Parker, that will support our future goals and continue our strong financial, operational, and governance oversight.”
Separately, Trinity Industries in May reported its first-quarter 2024 financial results. Also, Jean Savage will be a featured speaker at the 2024 Railway Age / RT&S Women in Rail conference, to be held Nov. 5-6 in Chicago.
AGG
Chris Avery is the new CEO of AGG, owner and operator of the Port of Churchill and the 627-mile Hudson Bay Railway, which runs from The Pas to Churchill. Effective July 15, he will succeed Michael Woelcke, who joined AGG from VIA Rail in 2022 and will retire this September. Avery has served as President and CEO of Canadian North and held senior leadership positions at WestJet.
“The Board of Directors of AGG is pleased to announce the addition of Chris Avery as he carries on our ongoing work to connect Canada’s vast resources to the world through northern Manitoba,” said Mike Spence, Board Chair of AGG and Mayor of Churchill. “We would also like to congratulate Michael Woelcke on his well-deserved retirement. Michael has been instrumental in guiding the organization through a pivotal period of redevelopment and growth. Under his leadership, the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway are buzzing again, with hundreds of thousands of rail ties replaced, bridges rebuilt, increased reliability, and an important shipment of critical minerals departing for export this summer.”
“I’m looking forward to joining Arctic Gateway during a busy summer season and building upon our already solid foundation,” Chris Avery said. “There is critical work ahead to solidify the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay Railway as key pieces of strategic Canadian trade and transportation infrastructure. I’ll be working closely with our partners to make sure we can seize the incredible opportunities that lie ahead for this trade corridor.”
Service to Churchill and remote surrounding communities was cut off in May 2017 by flooding that damaged portions of Hudson Bay Railway. In 2018, the Canadian government committed to the repair and maintenance of Hudson Bay Railway. This saw the creation of the AGG, and its acquisition of Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill from Denver, Colo.-based OmniTrax, and the Marine Tank Farm.
According to the governments of Canada and Manitoba, the recent investment builds on their previous commitments to restore rail service to Churchill and surrounding communities. Hudson Bay Railway, they said, is the “backbone” of the region, serving remote and Indigenous communities, and linking the Port of Churchill as the only deep-water Arctic port connected to the North American surface transportation network. The port is positioned to import and export commodities, critical minerals, and natural resource products through the Arctic and to the world, the governments said.
According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the Canadian government had “invested upwards of [C]$200 million” in railroad upgrades before the February 2024, funding announcement; the Canadian government and the province invested some $133 million in 2022 to ensure the railroad remained operational.
HDR
Justin Garrod has been named Leader of the Transit and Rail Construction Management Practice at HDR, an Omaha, Neb.-based design firm specializing in engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services. He will partner with HDR’s transit, freight rail, program management and field services leadership not only to “spread best practices in construction management” but also to build strong teams and deliver top construction management work across North America, according to the firm.
Based in Bellevue, Wash., Garrod has spent the past eight years heading HDR’s construction management work on Sound Transit’s $3.7 billion East Link Extension light rail line, the first segment of which opened April 27. The new line is one of five light rail and streetcar projects he has helped to deliver. With some 25 years of industry experience, Garrod has served Sound Transit as Director of Systems Engineering and Integration, Program Manager-Light Rail Vehicles, and Corridor Design Manager-Systems Engineering and Construction, as well as Talgo as Maintenance Manager/Project Manager.
“I was at the opening of the East Link line in April, and Justin’s energy and enthusiasm was infectious,” said Matt Tucker, who joined HDR in 2023 as Global Transit Director, following his retirement from North County (San Diego) Transit District. “There are few people who are more excited about coming to work every day and it shows. His contributions have been invaluable to Sound Transit for years and I’m thrilled that he’ll now use that leadership and technical expertise in a larger role.”
“Transit and rail construction management encompasses all aspects of contract delivery from contract administration, construction inspection, safety, quality, environmental, testing and commissioning to rail activation and entry into revenue service,” Justin Garrod said. “We bring the expertise and passion to get this job done right. We focus on the fundamentals and bring a collaborative team that works with the contractor, engineer, and stakeholders to solve problems, look ahead to potential issues, and proactively identify mitigations.”
In a related development, Kwadwo Atta recently joined HDR as Southeast Transit Leader.
