Keith L. Heller | |
---|---|
Born | Keith Louis Heller 3 April 1948 [1] Ontario, Canada |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1960s– |
Spouse | Dolores Smith |
Children | 3 [1] |
Keith Louis Heller (born 3 April 1948) [2] is a Canadian transport executive in the rail freight transport industry. In 2005 he was ranked 57 in the Power 100 listing published by Country Life magazine. [3] Heller is notable for having run major rail freight providers in both North America and Europe.
Heller was head of the Eastern Region of the Canadian National Railway, at the time the most successful privatised rail business in the world. [1] In 2004, he moved to Europe and became chief executive of English Welsh & Scottish Railway, the largest rail freight operator in the United Kingdom, [1] [4] and subsequently DB Schenker Rail co-chairman and head of the Western Region, covering rail freight across Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal.
Heller's parents Lorne Nelson Heller and Mildred Sophia Heller (née Schweitzer) married on 10 November 1945 and subsequently jointly ran a hardware store called "Rural Hardware" from 1953–1992. [5] Keith Heller grew up on his father's farm in Ontario and attended Elmira District Secondary School. [1] He was the oldest child. [1] Heller married Dolores Smith, [5] and together they had one son, who remains living in Canada. [1] He also has two children from a previous marriage who reside in Canada.
Heller's first job whilst still at school was working as a baggage porter. [1]
Heller began with Canadian National Railway (CN) in 1966. [6] By the end of 1993, he had become chief of transportation for CN's North American. [7] In May 1997 CN removed one layer of management and so Heller moved from senior vice-president, CN East, to be senior vice-president, Line Operations. [8] Following the merger between CN and Illinois Central Railroad, CN was split into five regions, and in May 1999 Heller was placed in control of the largest division, the new Eastern Canada Region, described as covering an area the size of Europe. [9] [1] Heller had the reputation of a hard-hitter, [10] with aggressive determination. [1]
In 2001 Heller enabled the sale of ten kilometres (6 mi) of city-centre tracks connecting the Michigan Central Railway Bridge through Niagara Falls, Ontario, following diversion of Canadian Pacific Railway trains via CN's International Railway Bridge on 11 December 2001. [11]
On 14 February 2003 Heller with another CN executive, Scott Roberts, held a meeting with Gordon McGuinty of the Notre Development Corporation discussing potential plans to use the Adams Mine in Ontario for dumping landfill from Toronto, instead of shipping to Michigan. [12] [13] [14]
During a restructuring of CN's executives in mid-2003, Heller continued in his position as senior vice-president for the Eastern Canada Region, and reporting to the Canadian National CEO. [15] [16]
Upon being due to retire Heller owned a large number of shares in Canadian National which by 2005 were worth eight-times their original value. [1]
In January 2004 Heller became the CEO of English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS), Great Britain's largest rail freight operator, [17] taking over from Philip Mengel. [18] Heller previously had his own private train in Canada, and commissioned Interfleet Technology to develop the EWS Company Train for use in Great Britain. [19] In April 2005 Heller invited Queen Elizabeth II to name one of the British Royal Train locomotives 67006 Royal Sovereign in a ceremony at Bristol Temple Meads railway station. [20]
Heller was chairman of EWS and involved with its sale to Deutsche Bahn to become DB Schenker Rail (UK), and then DB Cargo UK. [21] When Heller was CEO of EWS and the company was sold to Deutsche Bahn it had 4,900 employees and a turnover of 783 million euros. [22]
In 2007 Robert Wright of the Financial Times described Heller as being a "well-regarded chief executive". [23] In 2009 he was a member of the Rail Safety and Standards Board Sustainable Development Steering Group. [24] Heller initiated a programme of withdrawing British Rail Class 60 locomotives, then overhauling the locomotives as "Super 60s". [25] [26]
Heller retired from Deutsche Bahn in January 2011 and was succeeded by Alain Thauvette also from Canada, who took over the Western Region covering the UK, France, Spain and Portugal. [27] After retirement Heller continued as an adviser to DB Schenker. [28] At the Rail Safety and Standards Board, in his appointment as a non-executive director he was replaced by Neil McDonald in early-2010, also from DB Schenker Rail UK. [29] Heller had been based in the United Kingdom, something which did not occur with his successors until the appointment of Geoff Spencer as CEO of DB Schenker Rail UK in September 2013. [30]
As of April 2011 [update] Heller was a non-executive director of the company behind the Rail-Pod robotic track geometry car system, and was involved with the Rail-Veyor mining transportation system. [31]
As of 2012 [update] Heller was a non-executive director of UK Coal, serving on the board of directors, on the audit committee, nomination committee and as chair of the health & Safety Committee. [32] Heller's salary and fees for being a non-executive director of UK Coal were paid to the Canadian company S/Dolo, Inc. [33] At the end of 2012 Heller transferred from the board of UK Coal Plc, to oversee the creation of the UK Coal Employee Benefit Trust responsible for 67% of the voting rights on behalf of former employees. [34] [35]
In 2009 Heller made a donation of over $100,000 to the University of Western Ontario. [36]
In 2014 the Heller Family Foundation covered the cost of repainting the Canadian Railway Museum's locomotive number 1382 in traditional yellow and green livery. [37]
In 2016 the Heller's foundation funded computers for 256 pupils and staff at schools within Carrillo, in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica in conjunction with educational programmes arranged by the Quirós Tanzi Foundation. [38]
Heller is a vice-president of the UK-based Railway Benevolent Institution/Railway Benefit Fund. [39] [40] He became a vice-president in 2011 at the same time as Matthew Parris and Tom Harris. [41]
Heller was invited by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport to deliver their annual Sir Robert Reid lecture on 6 February 2008. [42] He became only the second lecturer from a freight background. [43] The lecture was entitled "Creating a Stronger European Rail Freight Network", and was chaired by Richard Brown with Chris Green leading the formal vote of thanks. [44]
In April 2009 Heller appeared on the cover of Rail Professional magazine. [45] [46] [47]
On 15 January 2010 diesel locomotive 67018 was named Keith Heller at the National Railway Museum in York, United Kingdom. This was the first British Rail Class 67 to be painted in DB Schenker livery. [6]
In mid-2011 an N scale model of 67018 Keith Heller was released by Dapol. In January 2012 an OO gauge model of 67018 Keith Heller was released by Hornby Railways. [48]
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
The British Rail Class 09 is a class of 0-6-0 diesel locomotive designed primarily for shunting and short-distance freight trips along branch lines.
DB Cargo UK, is a British rail freight company headquartered in Doncaster, England.
The Class 66 is a type of six-axle diesel-electric freight locomotive developed in part from the Class 59, for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies. In Continental Europe it is marketed as the EMD Class 66 (JT42CWR).
The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan. They were numbered in two series, D6600–D6608 and D6700–D6999.
The British Rail Class 92 is a dual-voltage electric locomotive, which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from a third rail. It was designed specifically to operate services through the Channel Tunnel between Great Britain and France. Eurotunnel indicates the Class 92 locomotive as the reference for other locomotives which railway undertakings might want to get certified for usage in the Channel tunnel.
The Class 67 locomotives are a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives that were built for the English Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS) between 1999 and 2000 by Alstom at Meinfesa in Valencia, Spain with drive components from General Motors' Electro-Motive Division.
The British Rail Class 90 is a type of electric locomotive. They were built for mixed-traffic duties, operating from 25 kV AC overhead lines and producing 5,000 bhp (3,700 kW). They weigh 84.5 tonnes and can typically achieve a top speed of 110 mph (177 km/h).
The British Rail Class 60 is a class of Co-Co heavy freight diesel-electric locomotives built by Brush Traction. They are nicknamed Tugs by rail enthusiasts.
The British Rail Class 56 is a type of diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight work. It is a Type 5 locomotive, with a Ruston-Paxman power unit developing 3,250 bhp, and has a Co-Co wheel arrangement. Enthusiasts nicknamed them "Gridirons", due to the grid-like horn cover on the locomotive's cab ends fitted to nos. 56056 onwards. Under its Romanian railway factory nomenclature, the locomotive was named Electroputere LDE 3500, with LDE coming from Locomotivă Diesel-Electrică and the 3500 being the planned horsepower output.
The British Rail Class 58 is a class of Co-Co diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight. The narrow body with cabs at either end led to them being given the nickname "Bone" by rail enthusiasts.
The British Rail Class 59 is a fleet of Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives built between 1985 and 1995 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors for use in Great Britain. A total of 15 locomotives were built for three different operators.
DB Cargo Polska is a Polish company operating mainly in rail freight transportation. It is presently owned by the German state railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB).
Crewe Diesel Depot is a former diesel-electric locomotive traction maintenance depot, formerly Crewe Diesel Traction Maintenance Depot or Crewe Diesel TMD, situated to the south of and visible from Crewe railway station. Built in 1958 by British Railways it was used as a maintenance facility for the diesel locomotives that were at the time replacing steam traction across the national rail network. Following the privatisation of British Rail depot ownership transferred to EWS, now DB Schenker and continued as a base for diesel traction, latterly becoming a facility for storing surplus rolling stock. In 2014 ownership transferred to Locomotive Storage Limited who have been and are continuing to renovate the site.
Toton Traction Maintenance Depot or Toton Sidings is a large traction maintenance depot located in Toton, Nottinghamshire. The TOPS depot code for the depot is TO. Before TOPS, the shed code was 16A.
DB Cargo France is a French rail freight operator. It is presently a subsidiary of the German state-owned logistics company DB Cargo.
The DB Cargo Company Train is a special train operated in the United Kingdom by freight operator DB Cargo UK, a division of Deutsche Bahn. It was built as an inspection saloon replacement, and is also used to entertain corporate clients. The train cost £3 million and took only nine months from concept to completion.
Bescot Yard is a railway yard in Bescot, a suburb of Walsall in the West Midlands, operated by DB Cargo UK. The yard is the major freight yard of the region, handling all of the rail freight movements and most of the railfreight traffic around the West Midlands.
The railway network in Great Britain has been used to transport goods of various types and in varying volumes since the early 19th century. Network Rail, which owns and maintains the network, aims to increase the amount of goods carried by rail. In 2015–16 Britain's railways moved 17.8 billion net tonne kilometres, a 20% fall compared to 2014–15. Coal accounted for 13.1% of goods transport in Britain, down considerably from previous years. There are no goods transported by railway in Northern Ireland.
Knottingley TMD was a traction maintenance depot located in Knottingley, West Yorkshire, England. The depot was situated on the Pontefract Line and was near Knottingley station. It opened in 1967 to maintain the locomotives and hopper wagons for a planned 75 Merry-go-round trains a day, expected to use the Wakefield and Goole line.
Ontario farmboy now entrusted with revitalising EWS, Britain's biggest rail-freight business … sat on EWS's board before taking the top slot … three decades of experience at Canadian National, the most successful privatised rail business in the world. … Country Life magazine has already voted him into its Power 100
57: Keith Heller: Railway visionary
Keith Heller, the chief executive of EWS, Britain's biggest rail freight company, said … passenger trains … delaying his freight trains.
first … to carry the DB Schenker livery … in the NRM at York on 15th January. … Deputy Chief Executive Officer of DB Schenker Rail, … joined the Canadian National Railroad in 1966, … CN's Senior Vice President East in 1995, … Senior Vice President for operations and sales four years later. … joined the EWS board in 2002, … Chief Executive in 2004 … Deputy CEO of DB Schenker Rail.
Keith Heller promoted to chief of transportation at CN North America.
Keith Heller, formerly Senior Vice-President CN East, becomes Senior Vice-President, Line Operations
restructuring to integrate Illinois Central … Senior Vice-President Keith Heller will head CN's new Eastern Canada division
Keith Heller … known as a hard-hitter … chose the little rail town of Capreol
Mr. Roberts said he and Keith Heller, CP Rail's senior vice-president for Eastern Canada, recently had discussed the future of the Adams Mine
what McGuinty, Heller and Roberts allegedly discussed … a behind-the-scenes plan to revive Adams Mine
As McGuinty, Heller, and Roberts made their way to their table, they failed to notice they were sitting beside ONR union activist Scott Caverly
The biggest, Eastern Canada, will be headed by a senior vice president, Keith Heller, previously in charge of line operations.
chief executive of Britain's biggest rail freight operator … since January 2004
Keith Heller from Canadian National has succeeded Philip Mengel as EWS Chief Executive.
Keith Heller, … had his own private train for use in Canada. He commissioned Interfleet Technology to design and develop one for use on the UK mainline. This was to become the EWS Special Train
Die EWS ist die größte britische Güterbahn … 2006 erwirtschaftete das Unternehmen mit 4900 Beschäftigten einen Umsatz von 783 Millionen Euro … EWS-Vorstandschef Keith Heller
Keith Heller, the well-regarded chief executive, will remain in charge of EWS, which will have responsibility for developing DB's freight business in the UK, France and Spain.
it was Heller who set the ball rolling with their transformation
Keith Heller told RAIL 611 that all the locomotives would be stored … behind the scenes, Heller was planning for the future of the big Type 5s
Alain Thauvette … runs all of DB Schenker's business in the UK, France and Spain, … he took the Region West helm from fellow Canadian Keith Heller on his retirement. … Canadian National Railway (CN) had shares in EWS, which is why both Thauvette and Heller originally came from CN.
outspoken Keith Heller, 61, who will continue to advise DB Schenker, was a colourful figure in the rail industry.
Neil McDonald joins RSSB Board When Keith Heller retired from DB Schenker Rail his position became vacant on the RSSB Board. Consequently, Neil McDonald, Managing Director of DB Schenker Rail (UK) … representing Freight Operators.
{{cite magazine}}
: Cite magazine requires |magazine=
(help)In September 2013, Spencer returned to the UK as chief executive - the first time a DB Schenker chief executive had been based in the UK since Keith Heller retired in 2011.
Non-Executive Directors … Keith Heller … Fees payable for the services provided by Keith Heller were paid to S/Dolo Inc.
newly established employee benefit trust, overseen by Keith Heller, a former UK Coal non-executive director, now owns 67% of the voting rights of the mining division
Keith Heller has stepped down from the board of directors at UK Coal and will now be a trustee of the Employee Benefit Trust.
Donors of $100,000-$499,999 … Keith L Heller
Marie-Claude Reid, Executive Director of Exporail and Stephen Cheasley, President, present a plaque to Keith Heller (CNR retired) as a token of appreciation for the Heller Family Foundation having covered the cost of repainting 1382 in the 'green and yellow' of yesteryear.
Carrillo Guanacaste … gracias al compromiso de la Fundación Quirós Tanzi por llevar oportunidades de desarrollo mediante un modelo de educación con el uso de tecnologías móviles a las zonas alejadas del país y al patrocinio "The Heller-Smith Family Foundation".
new RBF VPs … former railway industry bosses Keith Heller, once Chief Executive of EWS
Delivering the Sir Robert Reid lecture to the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport in London on February 6, EWS Chief Executive Officer Keith Heller
only the second freight speaker to deliver the lecture.
the 2008 Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Rail Lecture of … Keith Heller, titled "Creating a Stronger European Rail Freight Network."
Cover Story: Interview with Keith Heller
Canadian by birth, … joined Canadian National Railways … in 1966 as a part-time baggage porter when he was a student … worked in everything from IT to train driving. … was a frontline passenger service manager … riding his Harley Davidsons and his push bike. … UK base is London … Canada … owns a small island … Costa Rica … to escape the cold.[ dead link ] Alt URL
Eighteen months ago Keith Heller, then CEO of DB Schenker, was on the cover of Rail Professional
The big announcement in Hornby's 2012 range … is the GM-Alstom Class 67 … DB Schenker Maple Leaf red as 67018 Keith Heller.