USA: Merritt Becker has been appointed as CEO of new and remanufactured locomotive, marine and power equipment supplier National Railway Equipment Co with effect from June 1.
Becker succeeds Steven L Beal who died suddenly in 2020 at the age of 46, 10 years after having succeeded his father who founded the company.
Becker has spent the last 12 years at Cummins, most recently as President & Managing Director of Cummins DKSH in Thailand. Before that he was at engine and lorry manufacturer Navistar for more than 12 years.
‘This is an exciting day for NRE’, said Chairman John Miscione when the appointment was announced on May 24. ‘We have not been immune to the challenges facing our industry in recent years, which were exacerbated by the global pandemic and Steven’s passing. In the face of those obstacles, we have spent the last several years streamlining and stabilising our operations to prepare the company for a successful future. Merritt’s appointment is a major piece of that strategy, and we are confident he is the leader who can take NRE forward in a rapidly changing industry.’
Becker said the board of the Mount Vernon, Illinois-based company had ’worked diligently over the last few years to quietly develop and execute a strategy of streamlining and stabilisation. This work has brought NRE to what I consider to be an ideal “fighting weight” and ready to make some noise in the industry.’
- An interview with Steven Beal appeared in the September 2017 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine, which is available to subscribers in our digital archive.
