Jacksonville-based CSX Corp. said April 17 that its former President and CEO Jim Foote died earlier in the week at age 70.
According to Railway Age, Foote died April 16.
Foote, who retired in 2022, was succeeded by current CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs.
As the company reported first-quarter earnings, Hinrichs credited Foote with leading the company through some challenging times.
Foote joined CSX as chief operating officer in October 2017 and was elevated to CEO two months later upon the death of Hunter Harrison.
“All that happened very suddenly,” Hinrichs said.
“He didn’t come here expecting to be CEO. That was a surprise to him and everyone else.”
Besides implementing a new operating system for the railroad started by Harrison, Foote also had to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on CSX and the entire economy, Hinrichs said.
Foote had a large role in recruiting Hinrichs to succeed him in September 2022, despite Hinrichs having no experience in the railroad industry after a career in the auto industry.
“I very much appreciated his support. He was very strongly supporting me coming in from the outside,” Hinrichs said.