Tim O'Toole (businessman)

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Tim O'Toole

CBE
Born
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater La Salle University, University of Pittsburgh
OccupationTransport sector business executive
Years active1987–present
Employers
Board member ofFirstGroup, CRR Holdings, CSX Transportation
SpousePatricia
Children2

Tim O'Toole CBE is an American businessman, and former chief executive of FirstGroup. [1]

Contents

Early life

Born in Pittsburgh, [2] one grandfather was an assistant general manager on the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, while the other was a trolley car driver. [3] After studying law at La Salle University, Philadelphia, [3] he attended law school at the University of Pittsburgh. [4]

Career

Conrail

After training as a lawyer, he joined Conrail in 1987 as a Vice President in the legal department, preferring to spend his working days in the train depot at Stanley Yard in Walbridge, Ohio, [3] the primary classification yard for Toledo. [5] After serving as Senior Vice President of Law and Government Affairs at subsidiary Consolidated Rail Corporation, he served as Group Vice President and General Counsel from May 1989 to April 1994. [6] Moving into finance and accounting, O'Toole served as Senior Vice President from April 1996. [6]

From 1997, competitors CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) had been in a takeover battle for Conrail. However, under an agreement with the Surface Transportation Board, Norfolk Southern acquired 58 percent of Conrail's assets, including roughly 6,000 Conrail route miles; and CSX received 42 percent of Conrail's assets, including about 3,600 route miles. [7]

The agreement was put in place on August 22, 1998, under which newly appointed Chief Executive O'Toole transferred the lines to two newly formed limited liability companies, to be subsidiaries of Conrail but leased to CSX and Norfolk Southern, respectively: New York Central Lines (NYC); Pennsylvania Lines (PRR). The NYC and PRR reporting marks, which had passed to Conrail, were also transferred to the new companies, and NS also acquired the CR reporting mark. Operations under CSX and NS began June 1, 1999.

In three major metropolitan areas - North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit - Conrail Shared Assets Operations continues to serve as a terminal operating company owned by both CSX and NS. The Conrail Shared Assets Operations arrangement was a concession made to federal regulators who were concerned about the lack of competition in certain rail markets and logistical problems associated with the breaking up the Conrail operations as they existed in densely populated areas with many local customers. The smaller Conrail operation that exists today serves rail freight customers in these markets on behalf of its two owners. A fourth area, the former Monongahela Railway in southwest Pennsylvania, was originally owned jointly by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), Pennsylvania Railroad and Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE). Conrail absorbed the company in 1993, and assigned trackage rights to CSX, the successor to the B&O and P&LE. With the Conrail breakup, those lines are owned by NS, but the CSX trackage rights are still in place.

O'Toole served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Conrail until 2001, [3] [4] [6] succeeded by Gregory R. Weber. [8]

Since 2008, he has served as both the President of residual Conrail company CRR Holdings LLC that owns the Conrail Shared Assets Operations, [9] and is an independent director and member of the Audit Committee at CSX Transportation. [1] [6] [10]

London Underground

While looking to retire, he was offered the job as Managing Director of London Underground. Appointed by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone in 2002, [2] during his tenure O'Toole led the response to the 7/7 terrorist attacks: [4]

We evacuated 250,000 people out of our tunnels and trains during rush hour and not a single person was injured. That doesn't happen because of management intervention. That happens because people in the field are in control and understand what needs to be done. The thing that makes 14,000 people behave that way is training and competence.

In light of his leadership during the terrorist attack, O'Toole was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2005 New Years Honours List. [11]

In February 2009, he resigned for personal reasons from his £450,000 position, citing his requirement to spend more time with his wife who was unwilling to move to London.[ citation needed ]

As one of his last acts, O'Toole secured an additional £2bn of support from the Department for Transport in the wake of the collapse of Metronet. O'Toole commented before his exit, that Londoners should "scream bloody murder" if the Metronet upgrade of the Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines is delayed or scaled back because of funding problems. [12]

FirstGroup

In May 2009, he was appointed a non-executive on the board of FirstGroup. [1] Appointed Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive in June 2010, in light of the retirement of Sir Moir Lockhead 21 years after founding the group, on 1 November 2010 O'Toole was appointed FirstGroup CEO. [1] [3] [13] [14] On May 31, 2018, O'Toole was asked to step down from his position at FirstGroup due to poor performance. [15]

Personal life

Married to Patricia, the couple have two adult children, son Charlie and daughter Elizabeth. O'Toole and his wife maintain their main home in Philadelphia, while O'Toole has an apartment in Aberdeen where he spends around 50% of his time. The O'Tooles also maintain a winter home in Bonita Springs, FL. O'Toole plays golf off of a 12 handicap, and enjoys reading and travelling. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CSX Transportation</span> Class I railroad system in the USA

CSX Transportation, known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates on approximately 21,000 route miles (34,000 km) of track. The company operates as the leading subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk Southern Railway</span> American railway company

The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The company operates 19,420 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia, and has rights in Canada over the Albany to Montréal route of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Norfolk Southern Railway is the leading subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monongahela Railway</span>

The Monongahela Railway was a coal-hauling short line railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with NYC and PRR later succeeded by Penn Central Transportation. The company operated its own line until it was merged into Conrail on May 1, 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CSX Corporation</span> American transportation company

CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. The various railroads of the former Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries that are now owned by CSX Corporation were eventually merged into a single line in 1986 and it became known as CSX Transportation. CSX Corporation currently has a number of subsidiaries beyond CSX Transportation. Previously based in Richmond, Virginia after the merger, the corporation moved its headquarters to Jacksonville, Florida, in 2003. CSX is a Fortune 500 company.

Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail, an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Areas, where it serves as a contract local carrier and switching company for its owners, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway. When most of the former Conrail's track was split between these two railroads, the three shared assets areas were kept separate to avoid giving one railroad an advantage in those areas. The company operates using its own employees and infrastructure but owns no equipment outside MOW equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrail</span> Former American Class I railroad (1976–1999)

Conrail, formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do business as an asset management and network services provider in three Shared Assets Areas that were excluded from the division of its operations during its acquisition by CSX Corporation and the Norfolk Southern Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan Am Railways</span> American transportation company

Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former Class II regional railroads such as Boston and Maine Corporation, Maine Central Railroad Company, Portland Terminal Company, and Springfield Terminal Railway Company. It was formerly known as Guilford Transportation Industries and was also known as Guilford Rail System. Guilford bought the name, colors, and logo of Pan American World Airways in 1998.

The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway is a Class II regional railroad that provides freight service, mainly in the areas of Northern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. It took its name from the former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway, most of which it bought from the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1990.

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In addition to streetcar lines, the Van Sweringen Brothers of Cleveland, Ohio owned a vast network of steam railroads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Line (Conrail)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad</span> Class II railroad operating in New York and Pennsylvania

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland railroad history</span>

Cleveland has been and continues to be deeply rooted in railroad history.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allegheny Valley Railroad</span> Class III railroad that operates in Western Pennsylvania

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad (2001)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Line (Norfolk Southern)</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Tim O'Toole". FirstGroup . Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 Dan Milmo (31 October 2008). "US lawyer driving the turnaround on the tube". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jonathan Sibun (8 November 2010). "FirstGroup chief Tim O'Toole takes the express route to debt cutting and business building". Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "Turning Around the London Subway System: From Terrorism to the Olympics". Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Station: Stanley Yard, Ohio - CSX (NYC)". Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Tim O'Toole". Business Week . Retrieved 15 August 2012.[ dead link ]
  7. ↑ answers.com Archived October 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "Weber Succeeds O'Toole as President of Conrail". Conrail. 22 January 2001. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "Norfolk Southern And CSX Name Conrail Shared Assets Areas Personnel". PR Newswire. 11 February 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "CSX Corp (CSX)". Reuters. Archived from the original on 26 January 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "7 July workers honoured by Queen". BBC News. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Tim O'Toole confirmed as new FirstGroup chief executive". The Guardian . 22 September 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Miles, Tony (November 2010). "O'Toole takes over from Lockhead at FirstGroup". Modern Railways. London. p. 7.
  14. ↑ Milmo, Dan (22 September 2010). "Tim O'Toole confirmed as new FirstGroup chief executive". guardian.co.uk.
  15. ↑ Sweney, Mark (31 May 2018). "FirstGroup dumps chief executive as firm reports £326m loss". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
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