FOR THE PAST 12 years, the names Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp and Ed Burkhardt have been virtually synonymous. As visionary co-founder and dynamic Chairman, President & CEO, Burkhard's leadership from the front, attention to detail and customer care have transformed WCTC from a low-traffic regional to a multinational with lines in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Tasmania, and possibly Jordan in the near future.
When WCTC announced on July 8 that Burkhardt was resigning with effect from August 31 to start his own international rail consultancy, ripples of shock spread out from the company's headquarters in Rosemount, Illinois. We surmised that at the age of 60 Burkhardt might be finding the constant globetrotting too much, or that managing WC was too office-bound a task for a hands-on railwayman. But days later an open letter from Burkhardt's wife Sandy to WC employees shed a different light on events. 'Before last week Ed had no intention whatsoever of resigning', she wrote.
According to the letter, on Friday July 2 Burkhardt had been in London tackling some thorny issues facing EWS, where WCTC had just increased its stake from 33 to 39%. Under an obscure company by-law, three WCTC board members called a snap board meeting with no stated agenda. By the time Burkhardt could return to the USA and make contact with his fellow directors, the decision had been taken. He was given an ultimatum: resign or be fired. Mrs Burkhardt compared this drama to 'Julius Caesar with more than one Brutus.'
In recent months there have been rumours of investor concern following a fall in the WC share price from US$40 to US$17 giving a price-earnings ratio of just 11. Increasingly, questions were being asked about the policy of not paying dividends and ploughing the profits back into the business.
Whether Wisconsin Central will continue to prosper without its figurehead remains to be seen. Maybe it will become another merger pawn in the battle of the North American giants. And quite where that would leave operations outside the USA is unclear. Sandy Burkhardt suggests her husband will not stay idle for long, and we can certainly identify railways who might usefully beat a path to his door. But for now we must thank a railway manager who has given the industry fresh vision, drive and a passion to succeed, right around the world.
