10/2/2012

Railroading People Article
Franczak resigns as Canadian Pacific's COO; Schollaert becomes KCS' sales and marketing VP

Yesterday, Canadian Pacific announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Mike Franczak had resigned. The COO position will not be refilled at this time, CP officials said in a prepared statement.

Franczak joined CP in 1987 and advanced through a series of operating positions of increasing accountability and scope.

"I wish to congratulate Mike on his distinguished career and thank him for his 25 years of dedication to CP and its customers," said CP President and Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison.

Meanwhile, Kansas City Southern announced it appointed Stephen Schollaert VP of sales and marketing. He will be responsible for the carload business unit at the Kansas City Southern Railway Co. and report to EVP of Sales and Marketing Patrick Ottensmeyer.

Schollaert has more than 32 years of transportation and logistics experience. Most recently, he was senior EVP of Transpacific and Latin American trades for American President Lines (APL), where he was responsible for a $2.8 billion business unit. Schollaert spent 23 years with APL, holding such positions as president of APL Terminals, VP of Asia Europe trade, and VP of operations and logistics in London. He began his transportation career at Burlington Northern Railroad.

"Our customers are increasingly challenging us to design more complex and far-reaching logistics solutions. With his extensive experience in transportation and supply chain leadership, and impressive executive management … background, Steve will help us move KCS to an even higher level of performance in a very competitive marketplace," said Ottensmeyer in a prepared statement.