Norfolk Southern CEO received 37% raise following derailment

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw received a 37% increase in compensation last year, even after the company’s railroad was involved in a financially and ecologically disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw received a 37% increase in compensation last year, even after the company’s railroad was involved in a financially and ecologically disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Shaw received $13.4 million in total compensation in 2023, up from $9.8 million in 2022. His base salary rose $200,000 to $1.1 million, and his stock and option awards rose $2.2 million to $10 million. Last year was Shaw’s first full year as CEO after starting on May 1, 2022, so part of the increase in compensation can be attributed to having worked more months on the job last year than the year earlier. But he was president of the company in the first four months of 2022, and his promotion to that role in late 2021 had already resulted in his compensation more than doubling in 2022 compared to 2021. The accident on February 3, 2023, did not result in any fatalities, but did cause a massive fire fueled by toxic chemicals and the evacuation of much of the small Ohio town. And it cost the railroad $1.1 billion, according to its most recent estimate. The company’s overall net income fell 44% last year to $1.8 billion. Shares of Norfolk Southern (NSC) fell 22% in the two months following the accident, but the stock has since recovered most of its value, and its current share price is slightly above its pre-derailment level. Shaw’s changes in railroad procedures have won the support of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the union that represents the company’s engineers. But the problems at Norfolk Southern have sparked a proxy battle, as an investor group led by Ohio-based Ancora Holdings is seeking to elect an alternative slate of candidates to the company’s board of directors, with the goal of replacing Shaw.