Frederick Blair Wimbush (born 1955), is a retired American railroad executive and lawyer. He continues to be a civic and professional leader. From 1980 to 2004, Wimbush progressed through positions of increasing responsibility in the Norfolk and Western Railway Company and Norfolk Southern Corporation Law Departments, including senior general counsel in 2002. In June 2004, he was elected vice president, real estate of Norfolk Southern Corporation, parent company of Norfolk Southern Railway Company. In November 2007, he became the first, and as of August 11, 2012, the only, executive level Corporate Sustainability Officer in the railroad industry, 'Association of American Railroads web site Faces of Freight Rail.' Update of original page retrieved August 11, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2015. in addition to his real estate position. He managed several large conservation and energy efficiency projects for the company and has spoken on corporate sustainability at several corporate and educational conferences. He retired from Norfolk Southern Corporation after 35 years of service on May 1, 2015. Wimbush has served on the boards of the Hampton Roads Association of Commercial Real Estate, Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, and the Monarch Bank Norfolk City Board. On April 4, 2015, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Wimbush had been appointed to the Virginia Port Authority board. On June 24, 2016, Governor McAuliffe reappointed Wimbush to a full five-year term ending June 30, 2021.
Wimbush has been a leader in several legal and civic organizations. He was named a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation in 1998, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2005, and has been recognized as one of Virginia's Legal Elite by "Virginia Business." He has been president of the Virginia Commission on Women and Minorities in the Legal Profession; president of the Virginia Law Foundation; board membership on the Old Dominion and Virginia Bar Associations; member of the Supreme Court of Virginia Task Force on Gender Bias; member of the Virginia Bar Association Committee on Special Issues of National and State Importance. He is the former alumni council president at University of Virginia School of Law, a University of Virginia School of Law Business Advisory Council member and a member of the University of Virginia Law School Foundation board of trustees.
Wimbush has been active in charitable organizations, including the American Red Cross and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. He has been president of the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts; chairman of the board of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, where he helped steer the orchestra through difficult financial times in 2008 and immediately following years; and a member of the board of trustees of the Virginia Historical Society.
His accomplishments have been recognized through his entries in "Marquis Who's Who" and "Who's Who Among African Americans."
Early life and education F. Blair Wimbush was born 1955, in Halifax County, Virginia. His parents are Freddie Blair Wimbush and Sue Carol (Lovelace) Wimbush. 'Martindale.com' ISLN 902697865. Retrieved May 23, 2012. He graduated from Martinsville High School, Martinsville, Virginia in 1973. Biography summary at The Ryder Center for Supply Chain Management of Florida International University 2011 Green Supply Chain Forum.
Wimbush received a B.A. in political science from the University of Rochester in 1977, and juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1980. He attended the Duke University Fuqua School of Business, Norfolk Southern Management Development Program, in 1996. In 2004, he attended the six-week Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
In 1981, Wimbush married Jane Seay, an engineering graduate of the University of Virginia who later earned an M.B.A., at Old Dominion University, .
Legal career After working as an intern in 1979, Blair Wimbush began his railroad career in 1980 as an attorney for Norfolk and Western Railway Company, two years before its consolidation with Southern Railway Company, as subsidiaries of Norfolk Southern Corporation.The two railroads merged as Norfolk Southern Railway Company in 1990. He progressed through a number of leadership positions in the Norfolk Southern Law Department, including General Counsel – Operations and Senior General Counsel. Georgia Foreign Trade Conference 2012 Speaker Details Retrieved May 23, 2012. Among other projects, he helped develop the EPA's Clean Air Act Locomotive Emissions Standards in 1997. His achievements merited inclusion in Virginia's Legal Elite as recognized by "Virginia Business." 'Virginia Business' Retrieved May 23, 2012.He has been admitted to the Virginia State Bar, Virginia Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth circuits, and U.S. District Court for the Western and Eastern Districts of Virginia. See next footnote. 'Virginia Historical Society web site news release January 5, 2006.' Retrieved May 23, 2012.
Executive career In June 2004, F. Blair Wimbush Jr. was elected vice president, real estate, of Norfolk Southern Corporation, parent company of Norfolk Southern Railway Company. In November 2007, he became the first, and as of August 11, 2012, the only, executive-level corporate sustainability officer in the railroad industry, in addition to his real estate position. He has managed several large conservation projects for the company while leading the company's efforts to enhance relationships with environmental stakeholders and to measure and minimize the railroad's environmental footprint. Norfolk Southern Corporation web site news release December 13, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2012. His job includes pushing to conserve fuel, increase energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, recycle, and promote environmental partnerships.
In 2008, Wimbush assisted with the donation of an environmentally significant conservation easement on 12,500 acres of Norfolk Southern's Brosnan Forest property in the low country of South Carolina. Norfolk Southern donated a conservation easement to the Lowcountry Open Land Trust that will protect the property from development forever. Wimbush said: "We wanted to ensure that we could preserve the long-term health of this irreplaceable natural resource." The easement will protect the natural environment for animals and the ACE Basin watershed. 'Red Orbit.' "Norfolk Southern Donates Tract in Dorchester County, S.C., To Land Trust". The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C., August 5, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2012. On October 22, 2013, Wimbush announced that Norfolk Southern Corporation and Finite Carbon completed the successful development and registration of the Brosnan Forest Improved Forest Management carbon project. According to the company, the project met the Climate Action Reserve's forest project protocol and resulted in more than 282,000 eligible carbon offset credits at initial registration.News Articles Network October 30, 2013 . Retrieved May 30, 2014.
On February 26, 2011, Norfolk Southern announced that its Arnold B. McKinnon headquarters building in Norfolk, Virginia earned the 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star, the national symbol for protecting the environment through energy efficiency. Commercial buildings that earn the Energy Star use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Wimbush stated: "Norfolk Southern is committed to increasing energy efficiency in all its buildings and facilities and incorporating sustainable designs and materials in new construction projects." 'Coal Geology web site'. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
On February 17, 2012, Norfolk Southern Corporation announced that it had earned the top ranking among railroads in the S&P 500 Clean Capitalism Ranking published by Corporate Knights, a media, research, and financial products company that focuses on clean capitalism. Wimbush, said "It reflects our commitment to proactive management of sustainability issues and strong stakeholder communication." The company ranked 66 out of the 500 S&P companies. '4-traders.com web site.' Retrieved May 23, 2012.
Wimbush also led Norfolk Southern's participation in the GreenTrees (a privately managed reforestation and carbon sequestration program) initiative: Trees and Trains. By June 2011, Norfolk Southern and GreenTrees announced a conservation agreement that committed Norfolk Southern to planting 6 million trees across 10,000 Mississippi Delta acres. Trees were planted on 1,400 acres by the end of 2011. Wimbush said that reforestation was a key component in Norfolk Southern's approach to reducing the railroad's impact on the environment. Largely as a result of this initiative, on April 17, 2012, Norfolk Southern announced that The American Carbon Registry gave Norfolk Southern its Corporate Excellence award for making a public commitment to reducing emissions 10 percent below 2009 levels by 2014 and for reaching nearly 40 percent of that five-year goal in the first year. Progressive Railroading, March 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012. Railway Age, April 17, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012. 'Yahoo Finance web site'. Retrieved May 23, 2012. By the end of the project's third year, nearly 70 percent of the planned 6.04 million native cottonwood and hardwood trees in an ecologically important region had been planted.BizNS NS Trees and Trains. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
Wimbush has spoken on corporate sustainability at several corporate and educational conferences, including the 2012 Georgia Foreign Trade Conference, at his alma mater, the University of Rochester, on March 28, 2012, 'Weekly Buzz', University of Rochester, March 25, 2012, News for University of Rochester Undergraduates. Retrieved May 23, 2012 the 2011 Green Supply Chain Forum at The Ryder Center for Supply Chain Management of Florida International University, the 22nd Annual Environment Virginia Symposium at Virginia Military Institute on April 7, 2011, 'Virginia Military Institute web site'. Retrieved May 23, 2012. and the 2009 Railroad Environmental Conference, October 27–29, 2009 at the University of Illinois Railroad Engineering Program. 'University of Illinois web site'. Retrieved May 23, 2012. He is the scheduled speaker for the Virginia Commonwealth University Energy and Sustainability Conference January 30–31, 2013. 'Virginia Commonwealth University web site'. Retrieved May 23, 2012. On September 2–4, 2014, Norfolk Southern, BNSF Railway, and GE Transportation hosted 3-day discussion with industry leaders to address sustainability in the rail industry. Wimbush said: "Norfolk Southern is proud to continue its journey to fully integrate sustainability into all aspects of its business and operations, and looks forward to gaining keen insights from the best practices of industry and NGO participants at this symposium."Norfolk Southern Corporation News September 2, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
In May 2012, he was serving on the boards of the Hampton Roads Association of Commercial Real Estate, Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, and the Monarch Bank Norfolk City Board. 'Monarch Bank web site'. Retrieved May 23, 2012. As of the 2014 annual report, he continued to serve on the board of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance.Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance 2014 Annual Report. Retrieved May 30, 2015. As of May 2015, he continued to serve on the Monarch Bank Norfolk City Board.Monarch Bank web site . Retrieved May 30, 2015.