Draft:Lance Fritz

Lance M. Fritz is the chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the Union Pacific Corporation, the holding company owning Union Pacific Railroad. He has held the position since October 1, 2015. On February 26, 2023, following pressure from hedge fund Soroban Capital Partners, Union Pacific announced that it would replace Fritz as CEO. Fritz is also a member of the Business Roundtable and the American Association of Railroads.

Education
Fritz earned his bachelor's degree at Bucknell University. At Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, he earned a master's degree in management.

Career
Prior to holding executive positions at Union Pacific Fritz held positions at Fiskars Inc., Cooper Industries and General Electric.

Fritz began his career at Union Pacific in 2000 as vice president and general manager-energy in Union Pacific.

His previous at the railroad was as president and chief operating officer at Union Pacific from 2010 to 2014. Before that, he was vice president of labor relations at Union Pacific.

In Fritz's 2015 promotion to the chief executive officer of Union Pacific, he succeeded John Koraleski, who was named executive chairman of the railroad.

On February 26, 2023, hedge fund Soroban wrote a letter calling for CEO Fritz to be replaced. The letter stated in part, “Unlike typical shareholder engagements which come with numerous demands, Soroban has only one ask — install new leadership who can get the trains to operate safely and on time.” Soroban Capitol Capital Partners called for Fritz to be replaced by former Union Pacific chief operating officer Jim Vena to replace Fritz as CEO. Soroban Capital said that it owns an approximately $1.6 billion portion of Union Pacific Corporation stock.

In the first quarter of 2023 Union Pacific repurchased 2.9 million shares of stock while its debt load increased in the prior six years.

Fritz was succeeded by Jim Vena as Union Pacific CEO on August 14, 2023. Beth Whited, executive Vice President of Union Pacific, was appointed president. <Union Pacific, 'Executive Profiles' accessed, August 16, 2023 https://www.up.com/aboutup/corporate_info/exec/

Writing

 * Lance Fritz, Juan Gallardo Thurlow, and Victor Dodig Feb, 28, 2023 blogpost at Brookings Institute, 'North American business leaders’ perspectives on USMCA opportunities and challenges'
 * Lacnnce Fritz, February 28, 2023 'North American competitiveness: A team effort'