By Shawn Tully, Fortune Magazine; January 20, 2018
Hunter Harrison reigned at CSX for only eight months before he died, in late December. His astounding legacy: Implanting a new paradigm for railroading in a new market, the U.S. And against all odds, his lifelong creation has taken root.
On January 18th of last year, almost exactly a year ago, the railroad legend and his private-equity backer Paul Hilal announced that the then-72-year-old Harrison would seek to install himself as CEO of CSX, America’s third-largest carrier. As Harrison and Hilal expected, investors who were awed by Harrison’s remarkable track record made their surprise attack a winner. Within a week of the announcement, CSX shares popped by 32%, creating over $10 billion in market value. CSX’s board had to choose between anointing Harrison or watching their stock plunge amid a rebellion by institutional investors. On March 6, the board officially scuttled its own succession plan and put Harrison at the controls.
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