Richard Anderson replacing Wick Moorman as Amtrak CEO

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jis

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According to this Politico article:

http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2017/06/26/amid-penn-station-meltdown-amtrak-gets-a-new-ceo-113037

Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman is stepping down at the end of the year, and will be replaced by former Delta CEO Richard Anderson, according to knowledgeable sources and confirmed Monday by Amtrak.

The two men will serve as co-CEOs until the end of December.

Anderson, a 62-year-old former prosecutor from Texas, rose through the ranks of the airline industry to become CEO of Delta in 2007, just as it was leaving bankruptcy. He has a reputation as an iconoclast within the airline industry and is credited with transforming the airline into one of the world's most profitable.
 
Richard Anderson has done well with Delta but Delta is a for profit company.
As is Amtrak supposed to be according to its Charter, No? ;)

But the bottom line is, if he is a good hands on executive who can get things done, and is guided by Wick for at least six months and a bit beyond that, the situation would appear to be overall positive IMHO.

We knew Wick was going to leave after a year or so. So it was not a question of when we will get someone else, but who we will get. And I could think of many worse choices and only a very few better ones, who I understand are not available anyway.
 
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https://media.amtrak.com/2017/06/amtrak-names-transportation-veteran-richard-anderson-president-ceo/

“It is an honor to join Amtrak at a time when passenger rail service is growing in importance in America. I look forward to working alongside Amtrak’s dedicated employees to continue the improvements begun by Wick,” said Anderson. “Amtrak is a great company today, and I’m excited about using my experience and working with the board to make it even better. I’m passionate about building strong businesses that create the best travel experience possible for customers.”
 
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Moorman had said all along that he'd only be with Amtrak for a short period of time.

Interesting choice in Anderson. I don't follow the airline industry closely enough to know anything about him or what happened at Delta during his time there. Maybe some of our resident airline industry experts can chime in with any observations.
 
I was hoping Wick's ties to NS could help with relations/negotiations between NS and Amtrak (getting new service at reasonable costs). Oh well, back to the drawing board.
And on that front, nothing has changed. He was never going to be here that long, so what he was going to accomplish this year is what he is going to accomplish this year.

He's also staying on as an advisor, so not really back to the drawing board...
 
As was said,Amtrak could have done alot worse and having time with Wick will benefit the new CEO for sure.

The idea that Anthony might come back to Amtrak is a wish that hopefully could come true for us, but knowing Washington and Anthony it probably won't happen.( Anthony is a Very Smart guy!)

Let's hope we get a decent budget for the next Fiscal year and that Wick can continue to appoint good people and implement beneficial policies during the rest of his tenure. Stay tuned!
 
We always knew Wick Moorman's time at Amtrak would be brief, but I must admit being disappointed it will be this short. He inherited an awful mess left behind by Joe Boardman, and I fear he hasn't had a sufficient chance to fully right the ship.

I wish Richard Anderson the best and hope he is up to the challenge. Certainly Amtrak is a very different animal - and requires a rather different mindset - than managing an airline. Such a background could be a concern, but I know nothing about the man.
 
The bad news is that we'll have to change trains in Atlanta every time we need to get anywhere. :p

[though in all seriousness, more service to Atlanta would be a good thing...]
 
I think this will be a good thing for Amtrak. He will emphasize customer service (Delta got much better at that) and a premium experience (Delta economy + and business class is excellent). Downside: how long before airline strict fees come to Amtrak?

To note: Moorman will be staying around after in "some capacity." That's probably to help handle the railroad side of things like negotiations with the freights.
 
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The bad news is that we'll have to change trains in Atlanta every time we need to get anywhere. :p

[though in all seriousness, more service to Atlanta would be a good thing...]
Well that came later. First it was change at Detroit. :p

He started at Continental, then moved to Northwest, and then from there to Delta. ;) The constant factor in all of that was Skyteam, something that is the home of Anthony these days. :)

BTW, his Dad worked for the Santa Fe Railroad, so he does have a railroad connection of sorts.
 
I'm optimistic. Anderson really turned things around at Delta during the Northwest/Delta merger. Employee moral was down the tubes during what we call the lost airline decade of the 2000's, and it seems to be back on top again. He made a lot of customer service improvements such as modernization of aircraft interiors, bringing back better snacks, alcoholic beverages for domestic Comfort+ seating. The merger was probably the much smoother run of the Legacy carriers. Hopefully he does similar for Amtrak and realizes the importance of the LD network as well.
 
The bad news is that we'll have to change trains in Atlanta every time we need to get anywhere. :p

[though in all seriousness, more service to Atlanta would be a good thing...]
Nah, I'm changing trains, I mean planes, in Minneapolis later this year. Atlanta is barely west of me and I'm trying to minimize my hours on any given flight on my cross country trip.
 
I think this is good news. I consider Delta to be customer-oriented and does respond to individual customers (such as me) when a problem takes place. I even have had a response when I offered compliments for unusually good service.
 
I also know zilch about Anderson. Anyone with any info would be welcome.

There are a lot of similarities between the airline and railroad industries structurally. The big, big differences are:

-- the ability of trains to stop at multiple stations on a line, which is critically important to network design

-- the high cost of track infrastructure vs. relatively low cost of stations; whereas sky routes are free and airports are insanely expensive

-- the ability to lengthen trains

I'm not sure he'll understand these three points, but Moorman can probably explain them to him.
 
Well, so this probably mean, many many more seats in coach. Devaluation of AGR points ala SkyPeso's. Forget new equipment, if what he did with the DC9's and MD90's are any indication, then he will buy up used railcars from around the world and refurbish with higher density seating. But good news for premium passengers since he increased food quality and choice for FC. Oh and may just buy a oil refinery so Amtrak can make their own diesel ala the Trainer Refinery for Jet A.
 
To note, he was the Northwest CEO beforehand as well, which was a fine airline. The two things I think he will bring to the table are: improved rolling stock maintenance practices, and a more consistent business/first class product.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
 
When Boardman came aboard it was good news. When Boardman announced he was stepping down it was good news. When Moorman came aboard it was good news. Anderson replacing Moorman is good news. Anthony leaving was good news. Anthony coming back in the future would also be good news. With all this endless good news Amtrak must be in excellent shape by now.
 
It's all relative. It is better news than possible worse news, and Amtrak is in better shape than possible worse shapes it could have been in :p

Along the same lines it is worse news than possible better news that could have been and Amtrak is in worse shape than far better shape that it could have been in ;)
 
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