AITX Strengthens Leadership – Texas Howard Appointed President
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – Building on its continued momentum, American Industrial Transport, Inc. (“AITX”) bolsters its executive team as Texas Howard joins the Company as President, and Kurt Higginbotham is named CEO. Kurt will support Mr. Howard and focus on long-term strategic initiatives and remain a Board Member.
Mr. Howard, being an accomplished leader, will assume day-to-day leadership of AITX as he brings a wealth of experience in finance and operations and has a vision for continued growth into existing and new markets through the expansion of our Best-In-Class operations and service.
Mr. Howard joins AITX amidst a 15-month growth cycle targeted at enhancing customer solutions across the business with a focus on providing our customers the best railcars, best railcar and repair services, and best technology and data solutions to enhance our customers’ operations. Through its acquisition of The Andersons’ railcar business unit and proactive transactions, AITX and its affiliates have evolved its leasing platform to over 65k railcars, including barges and locomotives. In tandem, AITX’s repair network is now at 17 facilities, with additions including railcar storage and repair out of Clinton, IN, a new Northeast flagship location out of Milton, PA, and a major tank car expansion project in Brookhaven, MS. AITX’s focus on data and technology, will create greater transparency and efficiency for our customers.
Mr. Howard brings a 25-year, proven track-record in scaling industrial organizations by developing and leveraging operational efficiencies, corporate finance strategies, and high-performing teams. His accomplishments include 15 years in the infrastructure sector, serving as President of ABLE Applied Technologies, a leading pricing solutions manufacturer and distributor to major oil companies and fuel marketers across North America and as Chief Financial Officer of private equity owned energy infrastructure businesses that provided midstream and processing, gas storage, oil and gas exploration and production, and oilfield services. As a rail industry executive, Mr. Howard successfully oversaw the expansion of railcar service platforms at both Appalachian Railcar Services and Cathcart Rail. Prior to operations, Mr. Howard spent 10 years in the corporate finance sector, including serving as Chief Risk Officer of GE Energy Financial Services (Canada). He holds an MBA with honors from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Georgia State University. He is a CPA/CMA (Canada), CFA Level II Candidate and is Six Sigma Green Belt certified.
“We are excited to see business cohesion across our leadership, teams, and systems, resulting in culture of performance and integrity,” Kurt Higginbotham, CEO of AITX. “It is the perfect time to have Texas at the helm of the organization. He’s a proven and unique talent who can simultaneously focus on exceeding operational milestones while driving AITX toward broader ambitions.”
“It’s clear that AITX is cultivating something special with their dedicated and highly experienced team, strong culture and core values, innovative service offerings, and ability to deploy capital opportunistically,” Texas Howard, President of AITX. “I am honored to lead the Company and could not be more thrilled to join the AITX team as we collectively work together to build on past successes to lead the Company into its next stage of growth and positive impact for our employees, customers, and communities.”