Norfolk Southern Corp. has named Ann A. Adams as chief human resources officer, responsible for human resources and labor relations, and has reported to CEO Mark George. In addition, PC Bryant has been named vice president of human resources, reporting to Adams.
Adams joined Norfolk Southern in 2001 as a manager in human resources. From there, she progressed through roles of increasing responsibility that gave her experience across the business, including her role as chief transformation officer, which combined HR, Labor Relations, Corporate Communications, IT and Sustainability.
Earlier this year, the company decided to separate these divisions and Adams assumed an advisory role to help with the transition as the company conducted comprehensive searches to fill new leadership roles, including CHRO.
Adams has overseen culture change, relocation and design of Norfolk Southern’s headquarters, national rail labor negotiations, and more. She has broad Board experience and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Specialty Building Products, a North American distributor based in Duluth, Georgia, as well as the Midtown Improvement District and Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta. Adams holds an B.A. from Davidson College and a master’s and Ph.D. from Rice University.
She also completed the general management program at Harvard Business School. She was named among Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Women of Influence in 2022 and one of 10 Influential leaders for 2021 by Railway Age.
Since joining Norfolk Southern in 2020 as assistant vice president of human resources, Bryant has led organizational change initiatives, workforce planning, performance management, training, and more. Prior to Norfolk Southern, Bryant held roles in human resources at CSX, The Home Depot and Intercontinental Hotels Group.
He holds a master’s degree in industrial and organizational development from Georgia Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Alabama.
