Veteran Rail Freight Leader Mark Stevenson to Retire from VTG CFO Role

Mark Stevenson, a veteran leader in the European rail freight sector, will step down from his role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of VTG on August 31, 2024, after more than 30 years in senior leadership roles at AAE and VTG.

According to VTG's press release, he will continue to assist the company with specific asset-management matters and joint venture management through the end of 2025. The company has initiated the search for a successor and will announce this replacement in due course. Björn Schwarten, Head of Finance of VTG, will take over the CFO position on an interim basis from September 1, 2024.

Mark Stevenson joined Ahaus Alstätter Eisenbahn AG (AAE) in 1994, serving initially as its CFO and then as its CEO from 1994 to 2015. Under his leadership, AAE evolved from a start-up company into the market leader in the European intermodal sector. After VTG acquired AAE in 2015, Mark initially served as Chief Investment Officer until 2018 and was later appointed as CFO of VTG in 2019.

The Advisory Board of VTG thanked Mark Stevenson for his many years of service. VTG GmbH CEO Alberto Nobis said: "Over the past 31 years, Mark has played a key role in shaping the European rail freight sector in various management positions, particularly in the area of financing. As CFO of VTG, he has been instrumental in achieving many important milestones in the company’s evolution.  He has laid the foundation for our investment and growth course with his great expertise – backed by the VTG financing platform that he and his team put in place, which is now regarded as the gold standard in the industry. We would like to thank him very sincerely for his exceptional commitment, and we are very pleased that he will continue to be available to support the business going forward."

Source: VTG Press Releases