RailState's Advisory Board
We’re proud of our advisory board, whose talents and experience are wide-ranging. Our board members have deep experience in consulting and investment, and have spent years working in the tech, shipping, commodity, and data sectors. Learn more about their experiences below.
Steve Holland
Steve has over 30 years of technology and business experience, and has held multiple C-Level roles at Fortune 50 companies. He has been Division CEO, CIO, CDO, and CTO, and has P/L experience with enterprise leadership in Analytics, Supply Chain, CRM, and Cyber. Steve’s deep skill set spans across IT strategy, real-time digital enablement, loyalty ecosystems, Data Analytics, and running enterprise-scaled organizations. He has also performed over a 100 mergers and acquisitions.
Steve’s notable responsibilities as Interim CIO at PG&E included preparing for the 2020 fire season, re-setting the IT roadmap, and accelerating plans to modernize IT systems (including cloud adoption). As Chief Information Officer and SVP for 7-Eleven, Inc., Steve created, led, and executed the digital transformation of 7-Eleven 10K stores, which host 3.4B guests per year. He championed 7-Eleven’s shift to a customer-centric focus, and figured out how to gather, leverage, and use data to drive customer loyalty — leading to a significant increase in sales.
Steve currently advises and/or invests in multiple startups in North America in the areas of Agriculture Analytics, AI, Retail and Telecom (5G). In his free time, Steve volunteers at the salmon hatchery, fishes and crabs in Puget Sound, and travels with his family.
Mike Lambert
Mike has over 30 years of successful Executive (C-Suite) and Board Leadership in Canadian public and private companies, across various industries. Companies that Mike impacted include: Canadian Pacific Railway (as CFO), Calgary Co-op, Canadian Tire, the George Weston Loblaw Group (Real Canadian Superstores), The Southam Newspaper Group (The National Post), Mark’s Work Wearhouse, The Forzani Group (Sport Chek), Parkland Fuel Corporation, Yellow Pages Group, and Premium Brands Inc.
Throughout his career, he has been involved in a multitude of transformations. As a longtime advocate of Good Governance, he is the recipient of various Canadian awards, including Best Corporate Governance, Best Investor Relations, and Best Annual Report. He was also a recipient of the prestigious Canadian Dealmaker of the Year award while at Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), for their acquisition of the DM&E Railroad, linking CPR to The Kansas City Southern Railroad. Mike currently serves on Boards or Committees of a handful of for profit and not-for-profit entities.
Dean Wise
Since early 2017, Dean Wise LLC has provided strategic advisory services to the transportation, logistics, infrastructure, and geospatial sectors, with an emphasis on transformational technologies. His clients include transport/ infrastructure technology start-ups, transportation carriers and intermediaries, equipment suppliers, shippers, and infrastructure/private equity investment funds.
Previously he was vice president, Network Strategy at BNSF Railway, joining BNSF in February 2010, coincident with Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of the company. In this role, he oversaw BNSF’s strategy process, transformational technology initiative, regional franchise development including western Canada, shortline network (200 rail feeder lines), public-private partnerships (PPP), rail line sales and dispositions, and development of right-of-way for non-freight rail uses including fiber optics, cell towers, and electric transmission lines. He reported to the CEO and served on BNSF’s Executive Team.
Prior to his 7 years at BNSF, Dean had 32 years of consulting and industry experience. From 1995 to 2010, he served as president and managing partner at Norbridge, Inc., a management consulting firm focusing on the freight transport and logistics industry, based in Concord, MA. Before joining Norbridge, he was a vice president at Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman) in Lexington, MA (1983-1995).
Abudi Zein
Abudi Zein specializes in creating data solutions for investors, traders, and planners. His expertise extends from energy markets, to chemicals and shipping. As co-founder at AZA-Soyul, he focuses on curating, interpreting, and customizing data sets, to assess reputation and operational risks associated with companies’ environmental impact. Prior to co-founding AZA-Soyul, he co-founded ClipperData, a pioneer in the field of tracking the flow of goods and commodities.
Abudi has created and launched innovative information and data products throughout his career. He has worked in the information industry in Tokyo, Singapore, London, Houston and New York. He has held management positions in editorial, product development, marketing, sales, and general management. He was CEO at ClipperData and Argus Media, Inc, a Senior Vice President at Oxford Analytica, and Sales Director at Platts London. Abudi has a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Hanover in Germany, and a master’s in journalism from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
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