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Steve Angel appoints CEO effective September 28
Operational performance remains strong and still expect full-year growth
Jacksonville, Fla., September 29, 2025 (Globe Newswire) – CSX Corp. (NASDAQ:CSX) today announced that its board of directors has appointed Steve Angel as president and CEO, effective September 28. Angel will work closely with the board of directors and management teams to ensure a seamless transition. CSX's operational performance remains strong and the company still expects to achieve full-year sales growth.
Angel is an accomplished executive with over 45 years of experience leading large public companies and generating strong shareholder returns. He has a leading high-performance team that develops a long and long track record of collaborative culture and drives operational excellence and growth, while maintaining a disciplined capital allocation and attractive capital returns.
“We are delighted to welcome Steve as our new CEO. He is the visionary to create long-term value and an expert in guiding the company’s major transformation. The board has conducted a very targeted process and Steve is a clear choice to lead CSX,” said CSX Chairman John Zillmer. “The board is focused on advancing CSX’s strategic priorities and maximizing shareholder value, and we believe Steve has the right skills, expertise and background to help us achieve our next phase of growth.”
At Angel, she served as CEO of Linde PLC and her predecessor, Praxair, Inc. During his career, the companies under his leadership have created huge and sustained shareholder value. During her tenure at Angel, Linde and Praxair had a total shareholder return of 219% and 257% respectively. Since Linde AG and Praxair combined, the company's market cap has grown by 141% and its value has increased by $131 billion, outperforming the S5MATR index and creating the world's largest industrial gas and engineering company.
Angel served as CEO of Praxair from 2007 to 2018. After the merger with Linde in 2018, he became CEO of the merged company until he was appointed chairman in 2022. He plans to retire from Linde's board of directors in January 2026. He began his career with General Electric, where he has held a variety of management positions for over 22 years and has worked directly in locomotive and rail operations.
“I am honored to play the role of CEO and thank John and the Board for their trust in me,” Angel said. “It is an honor to join the company with a company with such a proud history, with a team of more than 23,000 employees working tirelessly to connect the industry, community and economy. My priority will be to ensure the safety of the railways and employees, to provide reliable services to our shares, and to provide important stakes for our shares and to provide important starts to ensure our shares are aligned with our shares. It is designed to drive long-term growth.”
Zillmer continued: “On behalf of the Board, I would also like to sincerely thank Joe for his leadership over the past three years. We appreciate his service and his many contributions to CSX. He is committed to strengthening our business and investing in our people and culture and he has laid a solid foundation for our people and culture investment as we move into the next chapter.”
“Being CEO of CSX has always been an honor. I am proud of the progress we have made in improving performance, strengthening customer relationships, and building a culture centered on safety and collaboration,” Hinrichs said. “I thank our team for their efforts and commitment – they are one of the best and smartest people in the business. I am proud of everything we accomplish together and confident that under Steve and the board of directors, the company will continue to become stronger and bring lasting value to all of our stakeholders.”
About Steve Angel
Steve Angel served as CEO of Lind from 2018 to 2022 and served as chairman since 2022. He plans to retire from January 31, 2026.
During his tenure, he was responsible for the successful integration of Linde AG and Praxair, Inc. , the company has created the world's largest industrial gas and engineering company. Prior to the merger of Praxair with Linde, Angel served as chairman, president and CEO from 2007 to 2018, helping to guide Praxair through major transformations while identifying and pursuing strategic growth plans. He first joined Praxair in 2001 as Executive Vice President, responsible for Praxair's operations in North America, Europe and Asia. He was later appointed president and chief operating officer in 2006.
Angel began his career at GE, where he spent 22 years in various management positions, working directly with locomotive and rail operations. This early operational rooting shapes his leadership approach, combining deep industry knowledge with performance, security and personnel.
He serves as the non-executive chairman of the GE Vernova Board, where he is a member of the Nomination and Governance Committee and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of GE Aerospace, where he serves as chairman of the Management Development and Remuneration Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the Stoke Space Technology Board, previously served as director of PPG Industries, the Hydrogen Committee and the United States-China Business Committee and co-chair of the US-Brazil CEO Forum. He is also a graduate student on the Business Council and serves on the Executive Committee.
Angel has received numerous awards and recognition throughout his career. In 2020, he was awarded the Watauga Medal of North Carolina State University, the highest non-academic honor the university has served for decades. In 2019, he received the U.S.-German Institute Leadership Award, which recognizes Linde's commitment to making the world more productive and its contribution to the German-American partnership.
Angel is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University and an MBA from Loyola College in Baltimore.
About CSX
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, CSX is a major transportation company. It provides customers with rail, intermodal and rail transfer services and solutions for a variety of markets, including energy, industry, construction, agricultural and consumer products. CSX has played a key role in the country's economic expansion and industrial development over the past 200 years. Its network connects every major metropolitan area in the eastern United States, where nearly two-thirds of the country's population lives. It also connects more than 240 short-line railways and more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports to major population centers and agricultural towns. For more information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries, visit www.csx.com. Like we are on Facebook (http://facebook.com/officialcsx), follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter (http://twitter.com/csx).
Forward-looking statements
This information and other statements by the company may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act with respect to, among other items: projects and estimates of earnings, revenues, margins, volumes, rates, cost-savings, expenses, taxes, liquidity, capital expenditures, dividends, share repurchases or other financial items, statements of management's plans, strategies and objectives for future operations, and management's expectations as to future performance and operations and the time to achieve goals, statements about proposed new services and statements about future economic, industrial or market conditions or performance. Forward-looking statements are generally recognized by words or phrases such as “will”, “should”, “believe”, “expect”, “item”, “estimate”, “preliminary” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are stated only as of the date of production and the Company has no obligation to update or modify any forward-looking statements. If the Company updates any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that the Company will make other updates to the statement or any other forward-looking statement.
Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, and actual performance or results may differ materially from what is expected by any forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those considered in any forward-looking statements include: (i) the success of the Company's successful implementation of its financial and operating plans; (ii) changes in domestic or international economic, political or commercial conditions, including those affecting the transportation industry (such as industry competition, conditions, performance and the impact of mergers); (iii) legislative or regulatory changes; (iv) inherent business risks associated with safety and assurance; (v) claims and litigation outcomes involving or affecting the Company; (vi) natural events such as severe weather conditions or pandemic health crisis; (vii) inherent uncertainties associated with the forecasting of economic and business conditions.
Other important assumptions and factors that may lead to actual results in forward-looking statements are specified in the Company's SEC report, which may be accessed on the SEC website at www.sec.gov and the Company's website at www.csx.com.
touch:
Matthew Korn, CFA, Investor Relations
904-366-4515
Austin Staton, Corporate Communication
855-955-6397