Rising Stars 2025: Keith Creasy

Keith Creasy, 38
Vice president
Wabtec Corp.

Nominator’s quote: “For the past 3 years, Keith has demonstrated a tremendous appetite for the rail industry and his personal growth in it. He ingrained in with our product teams, service teams, engineers and most importantly, his customer CSX, to lead one of Wabtec’s most strategic customer accounts. As a true advocate for CSX and the industry at large, Keith has a passion for the critical mission the freight-rail industry plays for this nation, the security of our supply chains and our economy.” — Tim Bader, Wabtec Corp.

Education: Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, University of Notre Dame; executive MBA, University of Notre Dame.

Job responsibilities: Current job title is vice president, North American Tier 4 locomotive platform leader. The role spans several organizations within Wabtec, connecting the company’s new locomotive design and manufacturing to the performance and reliability of its in-service fleet of more than 1,100 T4 locomotives operating in North America. It’s a newly created role to ensure Wabtec is considering the full life cycle of customers’ experience from the T4 product line.

Describe your career path. I have spent my entire career with Wabtec/GE Transportation, beginning my career as a member of the Operations Management Leadership Program (OMLP) in 2009. I spent four six-month rotations in various parts of our supply chain organization, specializing in manufacturing operations.

After the program ended, I had two successive roles as a manufacturing engineer: First, as a member of the team that designed and built our new locomotive manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas — and still my favorite job to date; and second, in the new facility as a member of the team that hired, trained and directed our new team members in Fort Worth. After a couple years in Fort Worth, I transitioned to a new role as a business leader running manufacturing operations in our Cab Assembly Plant.

I then pivoted out of manufacturing operations and took on two successive roles in our services business: First, in services operations building a team to support our new used serviceable material business unit, followed by a product management role running our DC locomotive modernization product line.

Most recently, I have been Wabtec’s key account executive for CSX.

What sparked your interest in the rail industry?
During my junior year of college, I applied to internships across several of the GE business units and “transportation” is the one that hit. Since that internship, I’ve been hooked. As an engineer there aren’t many products that are cooler to work with than a locomotive, and I’ve grown to love the industry at large as well.

What was your first job and what did it teach you?
My first job was as a bagger in a grocery store when I was 15 years old, making $5.20/hour. I think two things still stick with me about that job. The first is that I’ve always been motivated by performing the best in my current role, to set myself up for the next one. I couldn’t become a cashier until I turned 16, but you can be sure I worked as hard as possible to get the cashier job — and the $1/hour raise that came with it — as soon as I turned 16.

The second is that relationships are what really matter, both internal and external. As a cashier, that meant relationships with my fellow teammates at other registers as well as the baggers that supported them. Most importantly, relationships with our customers. I settled into working the early Sunday morning shift through my time in high school and I would see the same customers week to week. The relationships and rapport built through that time made the hours go by quickly and the job a lot more fun.

What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you? My favorite thing to do outside of work is to waterski. I spent my summers growing up behind a boat but unfortunately don’t get to do it much anymore. I try to make it happen at least once a year, though.

What is one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned in your career?
The power of listening. I had a manager early in my career, Roman Fortozo, who is now the plant manager of our Fort Worth manufacturing plant. He taught me about the power of letting the people in the room speak first and giving yourself time to consider the viewpoints before speaking up yourself.

How do you stay motivated and resilient when things get tough at work or in life?
Having a trip with family or friends planned for a point in time in the future. My wife and I love to travel and now we bring our kids along with us most of the time. For us, having that trip to look forward to is a great motivator to keep our heads down and power through the grind.

If you could share a meal with anyone in the world today, who would it be and why?
Marcus Freeman, head football coach at Notre Dame. Obviously, I’m a huge fan of the Irish in general, so the fanboy in me would be thrilled. However, I would really love to understand from him how he views building a team and building the culture of an organization. I think the people side of how he sees team building would be applicable across any industry.

In your view, what is the rail industry’s greatest challenge?
For me, the biggest challenge is our reputation with the public. Rail is the most efficient way to move freight anywhere, period. But we can’t seem to have a cohesive story as an industry that resonates with and explains our benefits to the public. I think of the airlines and SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) and their ability to spin the narrative in the right direction. I think we need more coordinated efforts to do the same for the rail industry at large.