Passenger Trains > Amtrak hires Gen. Mgr., State Supported Svcs.

Note the word, "HIRES." They went outside to fill this position.
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A Message from DJ Stadtler
Vice President of Operations
Amtrak
November 21, 2012

> Dear Co-workers,

> Please join me in welcoming Tom Quigley as Amtrak’s new general
> manager of state-supported services, effective December 10. In this
> position Tom will be responsible for functions of the Transportation,
> Mechanical and Engineering departments within this business line. He
> will be based in Oakland, Calif., and will be relocating there.
>
> Tom brings decades of executive experience to the company’s third
> general manager position, having led half a dozen organizations to
> financial and operational success. Reporting directly to me, Tom will
> bring his solid track record of profitably growing businesses in
> challenging market environments to Amtrak at a pivotal time for our
> company. Most recently as a vice president at Owens Corning, he
> improved performance by $78 million and reduced waste by $80 million,
> while remaining steadfastly committed to safety. His experience
> crosses a full range of functional areas, including having negotiated
> three of the largest commercial and marketing agreements in the
> history of Owens Corning. He will use this experience to bring a
> total business focus to all the state-supported trains and will work
> closely with other general managers to lead business planning and
> implement service improvements and productivity enhancements for
> state-supported routes.
>
> This newly created position is part of the company’s ongoing effort
> to align day-to-day operations with the Amtrak Strategic Plan. As a
> result, a clear emphasis will be placed on achieving quantifiable
> results and ensuring that operations meet the standards and policies
> set by Amtrak and regulatory authorities. Tom also will have matrix
> management relationships with other groups within the company,
> including the teams responsible for marketing and revenue management,
> fleet maintenance and human capital.
>
> Tom holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota, and
> pursued additional studies in executive management at Columbia
> University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina. He
> also holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the
> University of Stockholm.
>
> I am confident Tom exhibits the Amtrak values of respect,
> entrepreneurial spirit and accountability. He also brings a keen
> market sense to our company, helping us carry out our Strategic Plan
> to “run like a business” in everything we do. Please join me in
> welcoming Tom to this new and vital role at Amtrak. His appointment
> is an important step forward in the company’s reorganization and will
> make it easier for staff to serve customers and improve the bottom
> line on our state-supported routes.

> Sincerely,
> DJ Stadtler



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/12 19:00 by GenePoon.

in my experience seeing the white collars come and go through the revolving door ... it has been my observation that most outside hires don't last as long as railroad bred promotees ... seems long term railroaders have it in their blood whereas outsiders while in transition seem to wonder how the hell the place functions and get frustrated with all the bureaucracy

So far, I'm not impressed.

Imagine this: reverse the hire.

"Today, OWENS CORNING" hired a previous AMTRAK manager to run it's commercial glassware and products division. This AMTRAK manager comes with loads of railroading experience, having run one of the most successful state supported rail operations in the nation."

OWENS folks would probably be scratching their heads...."What??"

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tom-quigley/1a/6b7/238

Amtrak already has people in place at the State level. This is just another complete waste of money and resources that should go to actually operating the Railroad side of the Railroad.

Note, this position was not advertised on http://www.amtrak.com/career-opportunities - where other executive positions (up to Vice President) have been advertised in recent years.

It leads me to wonder whose friend/relative he is - since candidates were selected from behind closed doors?

I would really (really) like to be there when he is told that Amtrak counts state subsidy as revenue - and that measures to improve the satisfaction of the state DOTs that pay the bills by increasing efficiency and reducing costs also reduce Amtrak's revenue. Its a really good formula for doing nothing - not for demonstrating proven business development strategies.

(oh, yea - how long did Alexander Kummant stay in office again?)

Also, respect, entrepreneurial spirit, and accountability are Amtrak values? Is 60 Mass now just making inside jokes for those of us who appreciate 1984 - if so, well done!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/12 18:40 by rrhistorian.

Lurch_in_ABQ Wrote:
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> http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tom-quigley/1a/6b7/238


Thanks for the link.

Mr Quigley has experience in streamlining supply chains in three different firms. Dealing with sourcing of materials and services, etc.

Located in Oakland. Experience in supply chain management and restructuring. Has done that effectively in several unionized firms. Maybe he comes in with a mandate to "straighten things out".

I'd say it's time to fasten seat belts.

I agree his resume is impressive. But I have to wonder, WHY would he want to work for Amtrak?

For the past 15 years he's been in a fast-paced, results-driven, entrepreneurial, profit-driven businesses. What made him think coming to Amtrak would be a good fit? And to boot, a Mid-Westerner moving to the SF Bay Area?

I dunno...

Could he be a secret railfan?

Highspeed Wrote:
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> I agree his resume is impressive. But I have to
> wonder, WHY would he want to work for Amtrak?
>
> For the past 15 years he's been in a fast-paced,
> results-driven, entrepreneurial, profit-driven
> businesses. What made him think coming to Amtrak
> would be a good fit? And to boot, a Mid-Westerner
> moving to the SF Bay Area?
>
> I dunno...

Maybe he grew up liking trains, but never worked in the industry.

What I'm thinking is now the NEC is its own unit, LDT's have a General Manager, and now the corridors. Maybe Amtrak will hammer out the cost allocation issues and we will have a better understanding of the true economics of different types of passenger trains. Perhaps the new General Manager sees long term potential for the state supported corridor services. Lots of things are going for that segment such as new equipment in the pipeline.

When somebody is recruited for a senior position, there's usually a lot of strategic vision discussion, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. The candidate will usually have a decent idea of what has to be done, what tools are available or can be seized to do it, etc.

I'd love to have heard a little bit of Boardman's and the Board's outline of the "where do you see this organization in five years?" That's always a standard element in these conversations.

They may have said something like "we see Amtrak becoming three companies. One will be a NEC and affiliated short branches. Two will be this business, regional corridors and shorter state supported lines. Third will be the long distance routes." In fact, I'd be surprised if they didn't say something like this.

The manager's background suggests he's going to be the guy to tackle the food and beverage issue in Los Angeles and Oakland. If he's successful, that will give Boardman, etc a measure of breathing room to restructure.

WTF? Facepalm.

Posted from Android

Yea, he's not going to tackle food and beverage when his dept. is State Supported Services.

It seems that it was not to long ago that Amtrak was Changing around The Deck Chairs on The Titanic, and Once again true to form it is starting to hire More Bozo's to fill the Deck Chairs...........LOL

In many ways this is a Soap Opera

And down the Track aways this latest smuuck, will soon move at Amtrak Expense and Amtrak will redo his office and by this time next year will be working for somebody else after Amtrak Buys him out during the next Version of the Buy Out and Rehire Game.