Executive Profiles
Lance M. Fritz
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Lance M. Fritz is Union Pacific chairman, president and chief executive officer. He became chairman of the board effective Oct. 1, 2015. Fritz became president and chief executive officer Feb. 5, 2015, when he also was elected to the corporation’s board of directors.
He previously served as president and chief operating officer of Union Pacific Railroad, a position he had held since February 2014, after serving as executive vice president-Operations and vice president-Labor Relations, respectively. He began his Union Pacific career in July 2000 as vice president and general manager-Energy in the company’s Marketing and Sales Department.
Before joining Union Pacific, Fritz worked for Fiskars Inc., Cooper Industries and General Electric. He is a graduate of Bucknell University and earned a master’s degree in management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Fritz serves as a member of the board of directors of Parker-Hannifin Corporation, Business Roundtable, The Business Council, and the Association of American Railroads. He also serves on the Georgia Institute of Technology president’s advisory board.
Fritz is deeply involved with organizations in his local community. He is a member of the board of directors for Nebraska Medicine and Omaha Zoological Society. He serves on the STRATCOM consultation committee and is a trustee of the Omaha Business Ethics Alliance.
Fritz and his wife, Julie, have two children and are committed to helping women and children at risk in the Omaha community.
Lance Fritz
@LanceFritz_UP
Printz Bolin
Vice President-External Relations
Printz Bolin was appointed vice president-External Relations in December 2018. He operates out of Union Pacific’s Washington, D.C., office.
Bolin is responsible for Union Pacific’s advocacy programs regarding federal transportation and railroad issues, including economic and safety regulation, passenger rail and Amtrak, security, labor, state-specific and other transportation projects. In this role he serves as the primary liaison between elected officials, key Congressional Committees and Executive Branch agencies including the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Surface Transportation Board to promote and defend Union Pacific’s interests.
Bolin served as assistant vice president-External Relations since 2008 and held various positions since joining the railroad in 1991. Prior to joining Union Pacific, Bolin served as a senior staff member in the U.S House of Representatives and United States Senate.
Bolin and his wife, Kimberly, have two sons.
Eric Gehringer
Executive Vice President-Operations
Eric Gehringer was appointed executive vice president-Operations in January 2021. He is responsible for all aspects of Union Pacific’s operations, including continued implementation of the railroad’s operating plan, and its Engineering and Mechanical departments.
Previously, Gehringer served as vice president-Mechanical and Engineering. He joined Union Pacific in 2006 as a management trainee following time at Northwest Airlines and Daimler Chrysler. Since then, Gehringer has held numerous Engineering positions, including vice president-Engineering, where he was responsible for maintaining and hardening the company’s infrastructure, leading the design, construction and maintenance of track, structures and signal systems.
Gehringer is a graduate of St. Louis University with a degree in aerospace engineering. He received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Gehringer and his wife, Becky, have three children.
ericgehringer_up
Jennifer Hamann
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Jennifer Hamann was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) Jan. 1, 2020. She is responsible for managing all facets of Union Pacific’s financial activities, controls and policies, including accounting, tax, real estate, investor relations, treasury, audit and capital planning. As CFO, Hamann also serves on the Grupo Ferroviario Mexicano and TTX Company boards of directors.
Hamann began her Union Pacific career in 1992 as a member of the corporation’s audit staff. In 1998, she moved to the railroad’s Human Resources Department, holding various management positions. Hamann joined the Corporate Treasury group in April 2002, when she was named assistant vice president-Investor Relations. In April 2011, she was named general auditor of the Corporate Audit staff. Hamann moved to Marketing and Sales as vice president and general manager-Automotive in February 2016, a position she maintained until returning to Finance as vice president-Planning and Analysis in October 2017. She was named senior vice president-Finance in April 2019.
Prior to joining Union Pacific, Hamann received an MBA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). She also has fulfilled the requirements and examinations necessary to receive a Certified Public Accountant certificate.
In addition to her duties at Union Pacific, Hamann serves as the executive sponsor of Union Pacific’s LEAD (Lead, Educate, Achieve, Develop) women’s initiative and is a member of its executive advisory council. She also is on the board of trustees for the Omaha Community Playhouse, a member of the Board of Directors for the Omaha Performing Arts Society Foundation Board and The College World Series of Omaha, Inc, as well as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Advisory Council. She formerly served as LEAD president and member of the board of directors for Women’s Center for Advancement and Creighton University’s Accounting advisory committee.
Rahul Jalali
Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Rahul Jalali was appointed senior vice president and chief information officer in November 2020 and promoted to executive vice president in June 2023. In this position, Jalali serves as the organization’s technology thought leader, ensuring Union Pacific has a complete, integrated process and systems strategy. This includes flexibility to innovate and improve speed-to-market by introducing cutting edge capabilities and optimize business models driven by technology.
Rahul is an active member of the advisory committee of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). In this role Rahul serves to speak on behalf of the transportation industry and provide advice to keep the national critical infrastructure safe from cyber threats.
Prior to joining Union Pacific, Jalali spent 23 years with retail behemoth Walmart Inc. in increasing leadership roles, most recently as Corporate Vice President in the technology division serving Walmart International. In that role he specialized in developing world-class global technology solutions and organizations that could scale technology platforms, leverage data, automation, machine learning, build quality products to grow/optimize businesses.
Jalali holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) in Pilani, India. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Make a Wish Nebraska as well as Habitat for Humanity foundations. He and his family are passionate about involvement in the local community development projects with a focus on the well-being of children.
Scott D. Moore
Senior Vice President-Corporate Relations and Chief Administrative Officer
Scott D. Moore is senior vice president-Corporate Relations and chief administrative officer for Union Pacific. He has companywide responsibility for internal and external communications, public affairs, media relations and all executive services. Moore serves as president of the Union Pacific Foundation.
Moore previously served as vice president – Public Affairs for Union Pacific’s nine-state western region. His responsibilities included state government relations, public partnerships, port affairs, community relations, and philanthropic programs across the nine-state region. Prior to that, he was assistant vice president and general manager – public partnerships. Moore joined Union Pacific as director – government affairs in 2000.
Prior to joining the railroad, Moore twice was elected Nebraska’s secretary of state, following eight years as a state senator from Nebraska’s 24th legislative district. His political career began when he was elected to Nebraska’s Unicameral Legislature in 1986.
Moore is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Manufacturers, National Park Foundation’s National Council, GoRail and the Abraham Lincoln Library Foundation. He is President-elect for the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Board of Directors for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and Durham Museum.
A rural Nebraska native, Moore earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Nebraska. He is married to Danene J. Tushar.
Clark J. Ponthier
Senior Vice President-Supply Chain and Continuous Improvement
Clark Ponthier was appointed senior vice president-Supply Chain and Continuous Improvement in May 2018. In this position, Ponthier is responsible for strategic sourcing, warehousing, logistics, fueling fulfillment and continuous improvement. He also leads the environmental organization for Union Pacific.
Prior to joining Union Pacific, Ponthier spent eight years with Ingersoll Rand in several supply chain executive positions. In his last role, Ponthier served as vice president, Operations and Integrated Supply Chain for the Residential HVAC business, with responsibility for manufacturing, distribution, planning and operational excellence. From 2001 to 2010, Ponthier held significant global manufacturing and supply chain executive positions at Dell. From 1988 to 2001, he held various technical and leadership positions with General Electric and Dow Chemical.
Ponthier holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He currently serves on the board of directors for the United Way of the Midlands and as an officer on the board of directors for the Association for Supply Chain Management.
He and his wife, Lisa, have two daughters, Sydney and Victoria.
Craig V. Richardson
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Craig Richardson is executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary at Union Pacific Railroad. In this role, he oversees all aspects of the company’s legal affairs, including commercial transactions and litigation, labor and employment, and regulatory matters. He also leads the company's claims management team.
Previously, Richardson served as vice president of commercial and regulatory law. He joined Union Pacific as associate general counsel in 2016. Prior to the railroad, Richardson was principal shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, and vice president and general counsel of the El Paso Pipeline Group. Richardson has held various national security positions in the United States government, and he is a retired commander in the United States Navy Reserve.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College, a master’s degree from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a J.D. degree from Stanford University.
Richardson and his wife, Valerie, have three children.
Kenny Rocker
Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales
Kenny Rocker was appointed executive vice president Marketing & Sales at Union Pacific Railroad in August 2018. He is responsible for the company’s three major business units: Bulk, Industrial and Premium, along with Marketing & Sales Operations, Commercial Strategy and Union Pacific’s Mexico business. He also oversees the railroad's Loup Logistics subsidiary.
Previously, Rocker served as vice president - Industrial, a position he held since August 2016. Since joining Union Pacific in 1994, he has held various Marketing & Sales positions, including assignments in Automotive, Chemicals and the Market Development & Sales Center.
Rocker graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance from Tuskegee University. He currently serves on the Children’s Hospital and Creighton University boards and was previously Chairman of the Lutheran Family Services Audit Committee and served on the NorthStar and Seventy Five North boards.
He and his wife, April, have four daughters.
Beth Whited
Executive Vice President-Sustainability & Strategy & CHRO
Beth Whited was appointed executive vice president-Sustainability and Strategy in February 2022. In this role, she helps lead the development and implementation of Union Pacific’s strategic vision as it strives to become the nation’s No. 1 supply chain logistics provider and oversees its sustainability initiatives, guiding the railroad’s efforts to reach net zero by 2050. She will continue as Chief Human Resource Officer, leading the Workforce Resources team’s pioneering efforts to provide a world-class employee experience.
Whited had served as executive vice president and chief human resource officer since 2018 and was responsible for Union Pacific’s human resources and labor relations functions, as well as the company’s employee engagement culture initiatives. Prior to that, she was executive vice president and chief marketing officer. She previously led the Chemicals business for four years and served as vice president of the railroad’s National Customer Service Center. Since joining Union Pacific in 1987, she has held a variety of executive roles in Strategic Planning, Investor Relations, Finance, and Marketing and Sales, including president of subsidiary Union Pacific Distribution Services.
Whited serves as a member of the board of directors of RPM International Inc.
Whited is a member of the Humanities Nebraska Board, the Omaha Symphony Board and the Aksarben Foundation Board of Governors. She was a founding member and former president of Union Pacific’s LEAD (Lead, Educate, Achieve, Develop) women’s initiative.
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Iowa. She and her husband Kelvin have three children.