Tracie Winbigler appointed CFO and Stephen Gardner named Chief Operating and Commercial Officer
WASHINGTON – The Amtrak Board of Directors approved two
leadership changes to further build on the recent success of the company. Tracie
Winbigler will serve as the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer, and Stephen Gardner will assume the role of Chief Operating
and Commercial Officer.
Joining Amtrak on June 24, Winbigler will be responsible for
the company’s finance, treasury, accounting and control functions. Most
recently, Winbigler was the CFO at Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) where she
led the financial, procurement, and asset protection teams for the $2.7 billion
cooperative. Before that, she spent three years at National Geographic, joining
the company as CFO and later promoted to Chief Operating Officer, responsible
for corporate strategy and all aspects of financial operations. Winbigler
started her career at General Electric and held a series of divisional CFO
roles at businesses such as GE Nuclear, GE Transportation and GE Asset Management.
Winbigler will report to CEO Richard Anderson.
“Tracie is an accomplished financial executive with
experience developing and implementing strategy,” said Anderson. “Her
leadership skills and financial knowledge will be instrumental as we continue
to work toward eliminating our net operating loss.”
Effective immediately, Gardner will serve in the newly-created
role of Chief Operating and Commercial Officer, reporting directly to CEO
Richard Anderson. He will provide day-to-day operational leadership for Amtrak,
driving delivery of the Annual Operating Plan, and strengthening the
coordination between various functions across the company. Gardner will oversee
the operations, administration, marketing, strategy and planning, information
technology, product development and customer experience, government affairs and
corporate communications functions of the company.
“Stephen has played a pivotal role in Amtrak’s record
operating performance, increased ridership and improved customer amenities,”
said Anderson. “With this expanded role, Stephen will also oversee the
day-to-day operations of the company and ensure continued growth and success.”