Norfolk Southern fires CEO Alan Shaw for an inappropriate relationship with an employee

Norfolk Southern said Wednesday it has fired CEO Alan Shaw for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.

His ouster comes after two difficult years in the top job and just days after the company’s board announced it was investigating him for alleged ethical lapses.

The Atlanta-based railroad said Shaw had an inappropriate consensual relationship with Norfolk Southern's chief legal officer, who was also terminated. Norfolk Southern promoted Chief Financial Officer Mark George to be the railroad's next CEO.

Shaw was leading Norfolk Southern in February 2023 when one of its trains derailed, spilled toxic chemicals and caught fire in East Palestine, Ohio, the worst railroad disaster in the last decade. Then, activist investor Ancora Holdings tried to take control of the railroad earlier this year and fire Shaw.