I’m a lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan, and I cheered as loud and proud as any in Chiefs Kingdom when we took home our second consecutive title last February. That win took hard work, determination, teamwork and trust – all while having a bit of fun while doing it.
Jennifer Hamann, executive vice president and chief financial officer
I witness these same qualities every day at Union Pacific Railroad. Our winning team was highlighted last week when we came together to pull off our own Super Bowl – Union Pacific’s first in-person Investor Day event in over six years. We hosted nearly 100 of our largest owners, sell-side analysts and prospective owners Sept. 18-19 in Dallas, Texas, a key part of our premier franchise.
We’ve historically held Investor Days every two to three years. They’re a great opportunity to update our owners on our plans for the future – how Union Pacific expects to lead the rail industry – while driving shareholder value. It’s also a chance to introduce them to a broader cross section of the management team, all sharing a unified vision for the future and spotlighting the important work our entire team does every day to Build America.
With Jim Vena marking his first year as CEO in August, the timing was perfect to reinforce Union Pacific’s strategy – Safety, Service and Operational Excellence leads to Growth.
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We started the event touring Prime Pointe, a 3,000-acre industrial site master planned for Union Pacific rail service that demonstrates how we use focus sites to drive carload and intermodal growth. Participants then took the short trip next door to our Dallas Intermodal Terminal (DIT) – following the same journey plastic resin pellets take before we transport them across the country to ocean ports. They also got to see a first-of-its-kind Chick-fil-A Supply distribution center that leverages Union Pacific rail service to transport waffle potato fries and hash browns.
An Operating Expo at DIT gave investors the opportunity to get up close to a modernized locomotive, hybrid battery-electric locomotive, Engineering equipment like our autonomous tie unloader and a surprise guest: Big Boy No. 4014. To say the steam engine was popular is an understatement.
These real-life insights into our railroad’s past and present laid a solid foundation for the next morning’s presentation and what’s becoming our team’s motto: “Pursuit of What’s Possible.”
CEO Jim Vena explains how Union Pacific’s autonomous tie unloader is driving efficiency, which was on display as part of the Investor Day Operating Expo.
Jim walked the audience through Union Pacific’s strategy at a high level before his leadership team dove deeper into each component. Eric Gehringer, executive vice president-Operations, and Rahul Jalali, executive vice president and chief information officer, shared opportunities to continue driving improvements in safety, service and network efficiency.
The conversation then shifted to growth, with Executive Vice President-Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker and President Beth Whited laying out our strategy to drive revenue growth in the near and long term.
The morning also included panel discussions with live Q&A. A panel focused on service and tech featured Gehringer; Jalali; Steven Bybee, senior vice president-Southern Region; Carl Garrison, vice president-Network Planning and Operations; and John Turner, senior vice president-Northern Region. A second panel focused on growth included Rocker; Whited; Jacque Bendon, senior vice president-Industrial; Jason Hess, senior vice president-Bulk; and Kari Kirchhoefer, senior vice president-Premium. Both panels showcased our strong Union Pacific team while highlighting important initiatives around service and growth.
An Investor Day participant climbs into the cab of Big Boy No. 4014.
I pulled it all together by linking our strategy to our financial expectations for the next three years, providing thoughts on revenue growth, earnings growth and capital deployment. I also discussed how that plays itself out in the returns we provide shareholders.
After our leadership team took questions from the audience, Jim closed by underscoring the event’s biggest takeaway: Union Pacific has the right team and strategy in place to drive growth and deliver industry-leading returns.
After watching the Chiefs eke out three close wins, my confidence in their ability to ‘three-peat’ is waning. My confidence is growing, though, when it comes to our Union Pacific team’s ability to pursue what’s possible and lead the rail industry in Safety, Service and Operational Excellence.
Union Pacific’s leadership team takes questions from the audience during the 2024 Investor Day. From left are Kenny Rocker, executive vice president-Marketing and Sales; Jennifer Hamann, executive vice president and chief financial officer; CEO Jim Vena; President Beth Whited; Eric Gehringer, executive vice president-Operations; and Rahul Jalali, executive vice president and chief information officer.
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