Featured Speakers

Joseph R. Hinrichs

President and Chief Executive Officer, CSX

Joseph R. Hinrichs, a leader with more than 30 years of experience in the global automotive, manufacturing, and energy sectors, was named President and Chief Executive Officer of CSX in September 2022. Hinrichs brings to CSX a commitment to operational excellence, experience building global businesses through investment in people and culture, and a deep understanding of balancing safety and efficiency in a complex industry.

Hinrichs previously served as President of Ford Motor Company’s global automotive business. In that role, he led the company’s $160-billion automotive operations, overseeing Ford’s global business units and the Ford and Lincoln brands, as well as leading all of Ford’s automotive skill teams, including Product Development, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Labor Affairs, Marketing and Sales, Government Affairs, Information Technology, and Sustainability, Safety and Environmental Engineering.

Throughout his career, Hinrichs has been motivated by people and focused on forging strong relationships to generate successful business outcomes. Hinrichs has a proven track record in building collaborative relationships with labor leaders and represented workgroups during his time at Ford and GM. With a people-first mentality, Hinrichs believes listening to and learning from the workforce is critical to finding the right solutions and creating a winning culture.

Hinrichs serves in multiple advisory and board roles of various companies including Exide Technologies, Luminar Technologies, microDrive, and First Move Capital. Hinrichs previously served as a senior advisor at Boyden California, an operating advisor at Assembly Ventures, as well as a director at Ascend Wellness Holdings, GPR, Inc., Rivian Automotive, Inc. and Ford Motor Credit Company.

Jennifer Mitchell

Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration

Jennifer Mitchell was appointed as Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in April 2022. In that role, she provides executive leadership and direction on agency operations and policy matters, including the agency’s safety and rail development activities. Mitchell has over 25 years of experience working in the transportation industry in both the public and private sectors.

Prior to joining the FRA, she served for eight years as Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DPRT) where she led several strategic initiatives. These include landmark agreements between CSX, Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak to significantly expand passenger rail service in the State over the next ten years, as well as advancing construction of the new Long Bridge across the Potomac River. Mitchell also helped lead the creation of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission in collaboration with Maryland and the District of Columbia. She played a key role in securing dedicated regional funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, development of a new transit ridership incentive grant programs, and creation of the Commonwealth’s SmartScale multimodal transportation funding program.

Mitchell has served on boards of the American Public Transportation Association, Women’s Transportation Seminar, and the Eno Transportation Foundation. In 2018 she was named by Railway Age as a Woman of the Year, and in 2020 she was named by the Council of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) as a Woman that Moves the Nation. She holds a Bachelor of City Planning degree from the University of Virginia and a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ron Pavlik

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Surface Operations, Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Ron Pavlik serves as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Surface Operations. He works directly with the five Regional Security Directors, ensuring and aligning surface transportation security priorities for the four modes of land-based transportation: mass transit, freight rail, highway motor carrier and pipeline.

Prior to joining TSA, Pavlik served as the Chief of Police with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)/Metro Transit Police Department. During his over 26-year tenure, he served in various leadership positions across the department, to include patrol, operations and administration prior to being sworn in to serve as the Chief of Police in 2013. Pavlik is a graduate the FBI National Academy 222nd session, a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute and is also a graduate of Leaders in Police Organizations program through the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Ron is a military veteran, serving in the US Army for nearly eight years, with tours in Germany, Korea and Operation Desert Storm with the 1st Calvary Division.