John C. Kenefick

John C. Kenefick (born December 26, 1921 in Buffalo , † July 15, 2011 in Omaha ) was an American railroad manager. He was President of the Union Pacific Railroad for twelve years .

The son of a lawyer studied mechanical engineering at Princeton University . After graduating in 1943, he worked for six months in the Mechanical Department of the New York Central Railroad . This was followed by three years of military service in the US Navy , including on the USS Devosa . He completed this predominantly in the Pacific. He then took a job with the Union Pacific Railroad as a draftsman.

For the Union Pacific Railroad he also worked as a brakeman and as an assistant Trainmaster. In 1952 he moved to the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and later with Alfred E. Perlman to the New York Central Railroad. Here he rose under Perlman in management. After Penn Central was formed, he was named Vice President for Transportation in February 1968. Due to the existing differences in management after the merger, Kenefick left Penn Central after three months and took over the post of Vice President for Operations at Union Pacific Railroad. In 1969 he became vice chairman and in 1970 Kenefick was elected chief executive officer of the Union Pacific Railroad. From 1971 he was also president of the railway company.

During his tenure, the company's sales rose from $ 1 billion to $ 8 billion and profits from $ 75 million to $ 500 million. He ensured ongoing investments in the Union Pacific network and optimized the operational facilities. Through the merger of the Union Pacific Railroad with the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the Western Pacific Railroad in 1982 he was able to double the company's route network. In the course of the merger in 1983 he became chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad.

He also laid the foundation stone for the construction of a joint railway line with the Chicago and North Western Railway in the coal field of the Powder River Basins and the takeover of the Chicago and North Western Railway and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. In 1986 John C. Kenefick retired.

In addition to his professional activities, he was a trustee of Princeton University and a member of various non-profit organizations in Omaha. In 1978 he was the "King" of the Aksarben Foundation , a non-profit organization in Nebraska.

In 1989, Kenefick Park was inaugurated in his honor on Abbott Drive in Omaha . Until 2002, two Union Pacific Railroad locomotives were on display in the park. In 2004 the locomotives were installed in the newly created Kenefick Park in Lauritzen Gardens .

John C. Kenefick was married and has a daughter and four stepchildren of his own.

Web links

• Trains News Wire: Union Pacific's past chairman and CEO John C. Kenefick dies at age 90
• The Omaha World Herald: Former UP leader Kenefick dies, July 16, 2011

Individual evidence

1. ↑ AKSARBEN MONARCHS . ( aksarben.org [accessed December 13, 2017]). AKSARBEN MONARCHS ( Memento from December 13, 2017 in the Internet Archive )