Trinity's CEO Wallace To Retire

Trinity Industries TRN announced that Chief Executive Officer and President Timothy R. Wallace plans to retire as soon as a replacement is found.

"It has been my honor and privilege to be a part of this great company for the past 44 years and lead it for the past 20," said Wallace.

Image: Timothy R. Wallace
Source: Trinity Industries, Inc.

The railcar lessor and manufacturer said that its board is initiating a search to find a new CEO and will consider internal and external candidates for the position. Wallace will remain in the role until a successor is named.

At the end of 2018, Trinity's chief financial officer left the company "to pursue other opportunities." The CFO role was immediately filled with an internal candidate.

Wallace started with Trinity in 1975. He has been CEO and president of the company since 1999. Additionally, Wallace was chairman of the board at Trinity for 20 years, from 1999 to March 2019.

Wallace's tenure at Trinity produced the rise of one of the nation's largest railcar lease fleets as the company now owns and/or manages nearly 125,000 units. Trinity owns or partially owns 102,000 of these cars with a book value of $7.3 billion. Additionally, Wallace spun off the company's infrastructure-related businesses into a new entity, Arcosa Inc. ACA, at the end of 2018.

"On behalf of the board, I want to thank Tim for his significant contributions and service to Trinity over more than four decades. Under Tim's leadership, Trinity evolved from a manufacturer of railcar products to a premier integrated platform of railcar products and services with market-leading positions in North America. Tim has developed a deep bench of management talent to support the company's continued success, and we are excited about the future of the company going forward," said Trinity's non-executive Chairman Leldon Echols.

Wallace leaves the company on solid financial footing, albeit on the downside of the railcar demand cycle. In its second quarter 2019 earnings report, the company announced 16% revenue growth and 21% earnings growth, both on a year-over-year basis. Additionally, the company reiterated its full-year 2019 earnings guidance, which would provide a 64 to 93% increase at each end of the range off of 2018's results.

"With a strong foundation and team in place, I believe this is an opportune time for me to step back and let a new leader guide Trinity into the future. I am proud of all we have accomplished together, and I am committed to continuing to work with the board and management team to ensure a smooth transition," concluded Wallace.

Trinity Industries manufactures, leases, manages and provides maintenance on railcars through TrinityRail. Additionally, the company operates a highway products business and a logistics business.

Arcosa Inc. provides infrastructure-related products to the construction, energy and transportation markets.

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