Former KCS president and CEO passes away

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) announced the passing of former Kansas City Southern (KCS) president and CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer.

“Pat’s vision and leadership played a monumental role in the great history of Kansas City Southern as he helped reshape the railway industry,” said Keith Creel, CPKC president and CEO. “We have lost a remarkable leader and a cherished friend. Pat’s legacy lives on and can be seen in the work we do every day at CPKC. His contributions as a railroader and as a person will never be forgotten.

“We mourn his tragic passing and extend our deepest condolences to his fiancée Deanne, his entire family, many friends and former colleagues.”

Ottensmeyer served as final president and CEO of Kansas City Southern from 2015 until April 14, 2023, upon the completion of the combination of Canadian Pacific and KCS that created CPKC.

From 2008 to 2015, he was executive vice-president of sales and marketing at KCS and served as executive vice-president and CFO at the railroad from 2006 to 2008.

Ottensmeyer also served as the U.S. chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Mexico Economic Council (USMXECO) from 2019 to 2023. In this role as leader of the U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue, he was instrumental in representing business interests during the formation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from 2017-2020.

Among his many career recognitions, he received the North American Rail Shippers Association Edward R. Hamberger Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. He was a two-time Railway Age Railroader of the Year (2020 and 2022) and received Progressive Railroading’s Railroad Innovator Award in 2019.

CPKC will honour Ottensmeyer by lowering flags to half-mast across its network.