National passenger railroad Amtrak appointed Steve Predmore as its executive vice president and chief safety officer starting on November 4.
Predmore – responsible for safety planning, training and performance across the Amtrak national network – replaces Ken Hylander, who will return to retirement on November 15. Predmore will report directly to Stephen Gardner, Amtrak’s senior executive vice president and chief operating and commercial officer.
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“We are pleased to welcome Steve to Amtrak as a recognized leader in the implementation and operation of Safety Management Systems,” Gardner noted in a statement. “He has a deep understanding of system safety, human factors and human performance that will help us build and sustain a high-performing safety culture.”
Predmore brings nearly 30 years of safety experience to Amtrak from time spent in a number of “high-risk” industries, including aviation, oil and gas, and contracted passenger services. Predmore most recently spent five years as vice president and chief safety officer of the Bristow Group, a global provider of rotary and fixed wing aviation services for offshore transportation and search and rescue.
He also served for a year as senior vice president of safety for MV Transportation – a private U.S.-based provider of contracted passenger services, including paratransit/demand response, fixed-route municipal transit, corporate/airline shuttles, and school bus operations; and 11 years as vice president and chief safety officer for JetBlue Airways.
Predmore holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Drake University and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Texas-Austin.
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