JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corp.’s sustained culture of accountability and continuous improvement has been fundamental to its ability to create significant value over a wide array of economic conditions, including the recent recession, Oscar Munoz, executive vice president and chief financial officer, told participants at the “CFO Rising East: Creating a Sustainable Edge” conference.
“Several years ago, CSX began a long journey to change its culture,” Munoz said. “The things we set out to do — such as remaining relentlessly focused on our core values and redoubling our commitment to employee development — have already created dramatic improvements in our company and motivated our work force to achieve even more.”
Munoz emphasized that changing culture begins with setting priorities that really matter and sticking to them over time.
“At CSX, for example, there’s nothing more important than employee and public safety, and we set very high standards,” said Munoz. “Not coincidentally, as our safety levels have gotten dramatically better over time, so has our business and financial performance overall. At the end of the day, it’s about getting the right results, the right way.”
In 2010, while making record investments to support customer demand and future growth, CSX achieved its best year ever in safety, operating income, operating ratio and earnings per share. Over the past five years through 2010, CSX investors have seen an increase in the share price of more than 150 percent.
“The confidence we have about the future of our company is not only based on the many opportunities in the transportation marketplace, but also upon the proven ability of our people to seize opportunities when they see them,” Munoz said.
CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation’s leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company’s transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports.
CFO Rising, an annual conference held this year in Orlando, Florida, brings together more than 300 of the nation’s CFOs to discuss current trends in financial management and reporting.
