Norfolk Southern VP Reveals How He Puts the Customer First: Talk Less, Listen More

RESPONSIBILITIES: Prioritizing innovation in first- and final-mile solutions through the field sales, short-line performance, rail-integrated solutions, and Triple Crown teams; also overseeing industrial development, real estate, and market research and forecasts.

EXPERIENCE: Multiple executive roles with Watco Companies LLC; vice president and client manager, Bank of America; vice president and other managerial roles, LaSalle Bank; intern, AG Edwards and Bokam Engineering.

EDUCATION: B.S., Finance, Indiana University.

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In 2023, I joined Norfolk Southern to launch the first- and final-mile markets division. We partner with the 260-plus short-line partners that extend Norfolk Southern’s network to come up with solutions that enable our customers to ship more of their cargo by rail.

Coming Up With Solutions

Every day, I need to understand our customers’ supply chain challenges and then put together affordable solutions that can help them be more efficient. Rather than taking a transactional approach—say, asking for more wallet share and then going out for a steak dinner—it’s about talking less and listening more, so we can come up with solutions.

My team and I asked several customers that already use Norfolk Southern why they also send a lot of shipments in long-haul lanes. Then we would come up with rail solutions that address their concerns, such as purchasing a transload facility in Chicago to land carload freight while also growing overall volumes.

Especially as our service has consistently improved, we can take over some lanes that have never used rail before.

Building Relationships

To grow relationships, you can’t care about the market more than you care about people. You have to talk less, be inquisitive, and find out, ‘What keeps you up at night as a logistics person? What’s the biggest problem you’ve always wanted to bring up to us, but never felt like we could answer?’

It’s asking probing questions and being quiet. Then you have to be creative enough to put together solutions that work against the problems.

Growing With Customers

You have to always try to grow with your customers, rather than just bidding on the book of business that comes out every year, or saying ‘Oh, the market’s down. I guess we’ll wait until it recovers.’ We keep trying to grow, so we’ve had wins in industries that are in decline. It’s a powerful, fun approach and a person can have a vibrant career doing this.

What I love about supply chain is that every day is different. Even when you’ve prioritized one challenge, you wake up the next day and a customer has a new challenge that makes you put the other ones to the side.

I’m proud of building a team of supply chain professionals who are passionate about rail and about providing solutions so we can succeed with our customers.

My dad, an aerospace engineer, loved airplanes. He always said, ‘Pick a career that will be something you’ll like, even when it’s bad.’ I took that advice to heart. I was one of those kids with model trains and I never outgrew them.

I was lucky enough to get a job in banking covering railroads, and I built great relationships providing financial solutions to railroad companies. I parlayed that into one of my rail clients hiring me.

I am committed to listening, innovating, and prioritizing customer challenges to continue driving growth for Norfolk Southern.

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Stefan Loeb Answers the Big Questions

1. If you could travel anywhere, with no constraints, where would you go?

I’d travel the Swiss Railway system.

2. What’s your hidden talent?

I’m fast at doing laundry. I do it for my whole family and no one complains.

3. What are the first things you check about the business in the morning?

Yesterday’s revenue, yesterday’s carloads, and the state of the railroad.

4. Do you have any role models or heroes?

Baseball player Roberto Clemente is one of my heroes. He was a five-tool player; in baseball, this means an athlete who excels in five key areas: hitting for average, hitting for power, baserunning speed, throwing-arm strength, and fielding ability. My parents always taught me, ‘Don’t be good at just one thing; try to be the best you can at everything you do.’ A lot of that lesson was because of Clemente’s example.

Another hero is my first boss at the bank, Tom O’Bryant. He was the consummate team builder. He would push you hard, identify what made you special, and then manage both what made you special and your shortcomings to make you better.

He also taught me to understand who I’m doing business with and making connections so you can be successful.

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