A year after East Palestine wreck, railroad CEO gets a big pay raise

By Mike Lee | 02/26/2024 01:31 PM EST

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw saw a major compensation bump in 2023, despite a shareholder campaign to fire him.

Norfolk Southern Railroad CEO Alan Shaw

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw speaks during an interview June 21, 2023, in Atlanta. John Bazemore/AP

The railroad CEO whose company is at the center of last year’s train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, finished the year with a $3.6 million raise, according to a securities filing.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw’s total compensation rose from $9.8 million in 2022 to $13.4 million in 2023, according to the company’s proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The disclosure comes as Norfolk Southern faces a shareholder campaign to replace most of its board members and fire Shaw.
the company’s proxy filing

Shaw became the company’s public face in the wake of the wreck, visiting East Palestine several times and testifying in Congress on rail safety reforms.
testifying in Congress

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The pay bump includes a 22 percent percent raise in Shaw’s base salary, from $900,000 to $1.1 million, along with bonuses and stock awards. Shaw also gets other perks, including use of a private airplane.

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