William B. Storey

William B. Storey
Name	William B. Storey
Birth date	1947
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois
Known for	Chairman and CEO of BNSF Railway
Occupation	Railroad executive
Alma mater	University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign

William B. Storey

William B. Storey is an American railroad executive noted for his tenure as chairman and chief executive officer of BNSF Railway. He presided over operational and strategic initiatives affecting North American freight transport, interacting with major corporations, regulatory bodies, and transportation networks. Storey's career connected him to corporate governance, infrastructure investment, and industry associations in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Early life and education

Born in Chicago in 1947, Storey attended public schools before matriculating at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, where he studied disciplines that prepared him for a career in transportation and commerce. During his university years he engaged with student organizations and regional internships that linked him to firms in the Midwest, including engagements near Chicago Union Station and with companies operating on the Illinois Central Railroad corridor. His early network included contacts at institutions such as General Electric, Boeing, ExxonMobil, and regional railroads that later shaped his professional trajectory.

Railroad career

Storey's professional ascent began with positions at Class I railroads and related firms, where he gained operational experience alongside executives from Union Pacific Railroad, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Canadian National Railway. He served in roles that connected to freight corridors linking Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and New York City, engaging with intermodal hubs like the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles. Throughout this period, Storey worked with regulatory and industry organizations including the Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Association of American Railroads. His career intersected with logistics firms such as J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Swift Transportation, and XPO Logistics, and with supply chain partners including Walmart, Procter & Gamble, and Caterpillar.

Leadership at BNSF Railway

As chairman and chief executive officer of BNSF Railway, Storey led one of North America's largest freight rail carriers, coordinating operations across the Transcontinental Railroad footprint and major corridors such as the BNSF Southern Transcon and the Northern Transcon. His leadership involved collaboration with parent company stakeholders like Berkshire Hathaway and executives including Warren Buffett and boards composed of directors with backgrounds at firms such as JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Boeing, and Exelon Corporation. Storey's tenure addressed issues involving network capacity, fuel efficiency, and technological upgrades including Positive Train Control programs promoted by the Federal Railroad Administration and suppliers such as Siemens and GE Transportation (later Wabtec). He navigated commodity flows involving coal shipments to utilities like Southern Company and Duke Energy, intermodal volumes with carriers like Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company, and agricultural exports through partnerships with CHS Inc. and Archer Daniels Midland.

Storey engaged with labor organizations including the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the United Transportation Union, and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, participating in collective bargaining contexts influenced by legislation such as the Railway Labor Act. Strategic initiatives under his leadership included investments alongside engineering firms like Bechtel and Fluor Corporation, and infrastructure financing discussions with entities such as the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Business and industry influence

Beyond BNSF, Storey served on corporate and nonprofit boards, interacting with companies including Union Pacific Railroad (board members' networks), ConocoPhillips, PepsiCo, and General Motors through industry coalitions. He contributed to policy dialogues at forums run by the American Association of Port Authorities, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Council on Foreign Relations, and participated in conferences hosted by CSIS, Brookings Institution, and Harvard Business School executive programs. Storey's influence extended to sustainable freight initiatives associated with Environmental Protection Agency programs, climate discussions involving the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and public-private partnerships with state agencies in California, Texas, Illinois, and Washington state.

He engaged in mergers and acquisitions conversations informed by precedent cases such as the Union Pacific–Southern Pacific merger and regulatory reviews like those overseen by the Department of Justice (United States). Storey worked with investment banks including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Citigroup on capital allocation, and with pension fund investors such as the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

Personal life and legacy

Storey has maintained residences in the Chicago metropolitan area and in the Pacific Northwest, and has been active in philanthropic and educational causes associated with the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and regional foundations such as the Chicago Community Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through collaborative transportation and workforce development programs. His legacy is reflected in industry reports by the Association of American Railroads, commentary in outlets like the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and historical analyses by scholars at institutions such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Northwestern University. Storey's impact on freight rail restructuring, intermodal integration, and corporate governance remains cited in studies by the Brookings Institution, the RAND Corporation, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Category:American business executives Category:Railway executives