The United States celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month every May. That month has particular significance: It commemorates the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States on May 7, 1843, and marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, for which much of the track was laid by Chinese immigrants.To continue honoring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and their contributions to our country and transportation, four railroad leaders share how they are making a mark on the industry and their perspectives on the importance of AAPI Heritage Month.
“We can easily point to our AAPI employees who built our railroad centuries ago. One wonders what that outcome would have looked like without their involvement,” said Chief Diversity Officer Debra Schrampfer. “The better news is that we can still easily point to how our AAPI employees play critical roles in building our railroad today.”
Ashok Fichadia, AVP Customer Technology
Ashok Fichadia, AVP Customer Technology
As Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Customer technology, Ashok and his team build technology that helps Union Pacific Railroad better serve our customers.
Q: What accomplishments are you most proud of in your railroad career?
A: “Union Pacific literally helps build America; I am proud to have joined forces with my team and colleagues to make this happen every single day. I am proud of the fact that we have demonstratively improved productivity, grown revenue and enhanced customer centricity through technology and collaboration with fellow employees.”
Q: Which AAPI leader(s) in the transportation and logistics industry do you admire?
A: “I greatly appreciate and admire Indra Nooyi — coming from that cultural background, her story is extremely inspiring to me given her balance of competence, family, and business. While there are a few notable AAPI leaders in the industry like Sunder Pichai at Google and Satya Nadella at Microsoft, there is still a gap in the transportation and logistics industry for AAPI representation at top levels.”
Q: Why is AAPI Heritage Month important to you?
A: “As immigrants, arriving and assimilating in a nation of immigrants, it is critical for us to acknowledge, appreciate and applaud their amazing work and contributions to this nation’s growth. AAPI Heritage Month is the perfect way to do so.”
Q: Is there anything you’d like to share about your own heritage or being a part of the AAPI community at Union Pacific?
A: “I have always wanted to solve large-scale problems and grow businesses. Ensuring diversity of thought, experiences and backgrounds has helped me be more successful in doing so. Being culturally aware of not just who we are, but also who others are is key to creating inclusion, which leads to shared goals. We all have personal biases, but understanding others, their motivations, their aspirations, their background is fundamental for us to move forward together.”
Ravneet Gill, Senior Director of Budget & IT, Law
Ravneet Gill, Senior Director of Budget & IT, Law
Ravneet is responsible for leading the financial, operational, and technical functions of Union Pacific’s Law Department. Reporting directly to the EVP, Chief Legal Officer (CLO) & Corporate Secretary, Ravneet focuses on the strategy, process, budget, technology, and key processes critical to the operations of the Law and Risk Management functions within the Law department.
Q: What accomplishments are you most proud of in your railroad career?
A: “I play an integral role in bridging the world of operational efficiency and legal services delivery, developing technology and document management strategies, overseeing vendor management, and implementing key performance metrics. I also drive engagement by providing tech enablement that allows legal department leaders to work more efficiently and deliver more forward-looking outcomes to Union Pacific.”
Q: Which AAPI leader(s) in the transportation and logistics industry do you admire?
A: “I admire Norman Mineta for his work in the areas of transportation including aviation, surface transportation, infrastructure, and national security. Mineta was an advocate of the technology industry. He worked to encourage new industries, spur job growth, and supported the development of the infrastructure needed to accommodate the technology industry and its tremendous growth. Mineta also co-founded the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and served as its first chair.”
Q: Why is AAPI Heritage Month important to you?
A: “AAPI is a month where we recognize the contributions of the AAPI Americans in shaping the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. AAPI month provides an opportunity to mobilize and strengthen the AAPI community, highlight the strengths and challenges faced by the AAPI community, and showcase the diversity and cultural heritage of the AAPI community.”
Q: Is there anything you’d like to share about your own heritage or being a part of the AAPI community at Union Pacific?
A: “Currently serving as the President of AERO (Asian Employee Resource Organization) at UP, I am very proud to be part of the very diverse AAPI community at Union Pacific. AERO members represent 20+ Asian cultures and countries. We have a highly motivated AERO leadership team and a great group of ally members who volunteer on a periodic basis.”
Huy Pham, General Director of Operating Services
Huy Pham, General Director of Operating Services
As General Director of Operating, Huy serves as the chief of staff for the Executive Vice President of Operations, helping him run the operating department, which includes Transportation, Engineering, Mechanical, Harriman Dispatching Center, Customer Care & Support, Crew Management, Network Planning, and Safety.
Q: What accomplishments are you most proud of in your railroad career?
A: “Two achievements stand out in my career. When I was the Manager of Capacity Planning in Network Planning, I directly contributed to expanding Union Pacific’s track capacity across the Northern Region. The second achievement I am proud of is my ongoing work in supporting the Operating department and the EVPO’s office. In the six years I’ve been in this role, our operations have been dramatically transformed by Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), putting Union Pacific in a dramatically better position to help more customers ship by rail.”
Q: Which AAPI leader(s) in the transportation and logistics industry do you admire?
A: “That’s a great question because I’m of a generation of Asian Americans that really do not have very many leaders who look like me in the transportation and logistics industry in America. I had to Google ‘AAIP Leaders in Transportation in America’ to see if I was mistaken. We have a lot of opportunity to make sure the next generation of AAPI do see representative leaders in our industry.”
Q: Why is AAPI Heritage Month important to you?
A: “It is important to embrace and celebrate everyone’s culture, heritage and background. Diversity together makes us stronger as a society and as a company. AAPI Heritage Month is a celebration of that broad diversity that is AAPI. AAPI includes more than 50 ethnic groups across 40 different countries; by its nature, AAPI Heritage Month is a celebration of this broad diversity.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to share about your own heritage or being a part of the AAPI community at Union Pacific?
A: “I immigrated as a young child to America during the fall of Saigon in 1975. All my life I have had one foot in the Vietnamese culture and one foot being a red-blooded Catholic American growing up in Kansas (Rock Chalk Jayhawks!). Growing up, my parents stressed the value of education and assimilating and excelling in school, yet as children we were prohibited from speaking English in our home. That was my parents’ way of ensuring we kept some semblance of our Vietnamese culture. This dichotomy of preservation of the past and embracing the new is the beauty of the AAPI community. Embracing what will make us better while preserving the best of our cultures to drive us forward. This is not unique with my family, but very common among the AAIP community.”
Rushi Patel, AVP of Technology Strategy
Rushi Patel, AVP of Technology Strategy
As AVP of Technology Strategy, Rushi is responsible for overseeing his department’s mid- to long-term goals and achieving them through creative collaborations. These goals, which align with Union Pacific’s larger organizational goals, include upgrading Union Pacific’s technology as well as examining how Union Pacific looks at the workforce of the future with upskilling, engagement and other issues relevant to the company’s tech teams.
Q: What accomplishments are you most proud of in your railroad career?
A: “In my 13 months with UP I am excited to have played a key role in developing and starting to execute a 3-year plan to modernize our technology. This plan not only addresses our legacy tech, which needs basic upgrades, but also provides a method to leap forward in terms of capabilities that will provide the railroad with the technology horsepower needed to meet current and future competitive landscape and customer needs — from intelligent operations, data, science-based decision support to customer-facing mobile apps and better visibility. This is all while doubling down on our tech security so we have high trust from our operations teams, internal teams and customers.
Q: Which AAPI leader(s) in the transportation and logistics industry do you admire?
A: “Within this company, working for our Chief Information Officer Rahul Jalali, I have come to admire that he wears his background and culture on his sleeve – never shying away from what makes him unique (his upbringing, culture, and personal/professional story). This is important for senior leaders to reflect so we drive that inclusive culture of accepting and celebrating differences.
Q: Why is AAPI Heritage Month important to you?
A: “I think it’s important to remember and celebrate our backgrounds and what makes us unique. It’s also important to use this month to educate each other on the struggles and triumphs of people who operate day-to-day in the minority, both inside and outside of work.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to share about your own heritage or being a part of the AAPI community at Union Pacific?
A: “Growing up in the U.S. but having an Indian heritage background brings a unique perspective to the conversation — just like someone who may have lived most of their life in India or another country but came here for education or work. It’s important to recognize that no one group of people are all the same; each person stands as an individual with some shared prospective. AAPI brings these unique and similar perspectives to light and empowers all of us to be our whole selves at work, providing us confidence and comfort to be the most productive in our day to day.”
The Importance of Diversity and Inclusivity
It’s important to honor the many Asian American and Pacific Island cultures and celebrate the contributions of AAPI men and women throughout history. In addition to celebrating AAPI heritage, Union Pacific is also committed to promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion (D&I) in order to create an environment where people can be their best, both personally and professionally.
“Heritage celebration months invite us to pause and show gratitude for the diverse leaders, cultures, and perspectives that build, and continue to build, our transportation system,” said Chief Diversity Officer Debra Schrampfer. “While the article highlighted who our AAPI leaders admire, these four UP leaders — themselves — are admired by many, including me.”
Learn More
To learn more about AAPI Heritage Month, visit asianpacificheritage.gov. For information about shipping freight by rail, answer a few questions and an expert will be in touch.
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