Former Atlas Air president and CEO William J Flynn has been appointed as US passenger train operator Amtrak’s next chief executive officer and president. Flynn, a seasoned business leader with four decades of transportation and logistics experience, will begin his role on April 15, 2020. Flynn succeeds Richard Anderson, who joined Amtrak as CEO in July 2017. Anderson, who fulfills his three-year commitment to the company this year, will remain with Amtrak until the end of the year as a senior advisor to Flynn.
Flynn has been a successful leader across multiple modes of transportation, including rail, maritime and aviation. Most recently, he served 13 years with Atlas Air Worldwide, which serves the global air freight, military charter and passenger charter markets, as president and ceo and board chairman. He also held senior roles with CSX Transportation, Sea-Land Services, Inc., and GeoLogistics Corp.
“Bill is the right executive to lead us into the future,” said Amtrak board chairman Tony Coscia. “We’ve never been stronger as a company than we are today. We are modernising the customer experience and delivering our service to more people. Bill has a consistent track record of growing and improving complex transportation businesses.
“We are confident he will build upon the strong foundation of record-setting growth and improvement set by the Board, Richard and the entire Amtrak team.”
In fiscal year 2019, Amtrak set new records in ridership, revenue and earnings. In 2020, Amtrak is on pace to achieve operational breakeven for the first time in the company’s 49-year history. Additionally, Amtrak is investing billions in capital assets and is undertaking the largest fleet renewal in company history, with new high-speed Acela trains entering service on the Northeast Corridor next year.
“Amtrak’s future is incredibly bright and I’m excited to join the team,” said Flynn. “Amtrak service is vital to millions of Americans across the nation and by improving the customer experience, driving safety, and strengthening our partnership with states and other stakeholders, we can do much more for the American people. Tony, Richard and Amtrak’s dedicated employees have done an amazing job modernizing the company for the 21st Century. It’s a privilege to join them in continuing this work and advancing something as important as Amtrak’s mission.”
