F. Blair Wimbush

Frederick Blair Wimbush (born July 24, 1955), is a retired American railroad executive and lawyer.

He continues to be a civic and professional leader.

F. Blair Wimbush was born July 24, 1955, in Halifax County, Virginia.

His parents are Freddie Blair Wimbush and Sue Carol (Lovelace) Wimbush.

He graduated from Martinsville High School, Martinsville, Virginia in 1973.

Wimbush received a B.A. in political science from the University of Rochester in 1977, and juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1980.

After working as an intern in 1979, Blair Wimbush began his railroad career in 1980 as an attorney for Norfolk and Western Railway Company, two years before its consolidation with Southern Railway Company, as subsidiaries of Norfolk Southern Corporation.

He progressed through a number of leadership positions in the Norfolk Southern Law Department, including General Counsel – Operations and Senior General Counsel.

From 1980 to 2004, Wimbush progressed through positions of increasing responsibility in the Norfolk and Western Railway Company and Norfolk Southern Corporation Law Departments, including senior general counsel in 2002.

On January 1, 1981, Wimbush married Jane Seay, an engineering graduate of the University of Virginia who later earned an M.B.A., at Old Dominion University,.

He attended the Duke University Fuqua School of Business, Norfolk Southern Management Development Program, in 1996.

Among other projects, he helped develop the EPA's Clean Air Act Locomotive Emissions Standards in 1997.

His achievements merited inclusion in Virginia's Legal Elite as recognized by "Virginia Business."

He was named a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation in 1998, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2005, and has been recognized as one of Virginia's Legal Elite by "Virginia Business."

He has been president of the Virginia Commission on Women and Minorities in the Legal Profession; president of the Virginia Law Foundation; board membership on the Old Dominion and Virginia Bar Associations; member of the Supreme Court of Virginia Task Force on Gender Bias; member of the Virginia Bar Association Committee on Special Issues of National and State Importance.

He is the former alumni council president at University of Virginia School of Law, a University of Virginia School of Law Business Advisory Council member and a member of the University of Virginia Law School Foundation board of trustees.

Wimbush has been active in charitable organizations, including the American Red Cross and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

In June 2004, he was elected vice president, real estate of Norfolk Southern Corporation, parent company of Norfolk Southern Railway Company.

In 2004, he attended the six-week Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

In June 2004, F. Blair Wimbush Jr. was elected vice president, real estate, of Norfolk Southern Corporation, parent company of Norfolk Southern Railway Company.

He has been president of the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts; chairman of the board of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, where he helped steer the orchestra through difficult financial times in 2008 and immediately following years; and a member of the board of trustees of the Virginia Historical Society.

His accomplishments have been recognized through his entries in "Marquis Who's Who" and "Who's Who Among African Americans."

In 2008, Wimbush assisted with the donation of an environmentally significant conservation easement on 12,500 acres of Norfolk Southern's Brosnan Forest property in the low country of South Carolina.

Norfolk Southern donated a conservation easement to the Lowcountry Open Land Trust that will protect the property from development forever.

Wimbush said: "We wanted to ensure that we could preserve the long-term health of this irreplaceable natural resource."

The easement will protect the natural environment for animals and the ACE Basin watershed.

On February 26, 2011, Norfolk Southern announced that its Arnold B. McKinnon headquarters building in Norfolk, Virginia earned the 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star, the national symbol for protecting the environment through energy efficiency.

Commercial buildings that earn the Energy Star use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

In November 2007, he became the first, and as of August 11, 2012, the only, executive level Corporate Sustainability Officer in the railroad industry, in addition to his real estate position.

He managed several large conservation and energy efficiency projects for the company and has spoken on corporate sustainability at several corporate and educational conferences.

In November 2007, he became the first, and as of August 11, 2012, the only, executive-level corporate sustainability officer in the railroad industry, in addition to his real estate position.

He has managed several large conservation projects for the company while leading the company's efforts to enhance relationships with environmental stakeholders and to measure and minimize the railroad's environmental footprint.

His job includes pushing to conserve fuel, increase energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, recycle, and promote environmental partnerships.

On October 22, 2013, Wimbush announced that Norfolk Southern Corporation and Finite Carbon completed the successful development and registration of the Brosnan Forest Improved Forest Management carbon project.

According to the company, the project met the Climate Action Reserve's forest project protocol and resulted in more than 282,000 eligible carbon offset credits at initial registration.

He retired from Norfolk Southern Corporation after 35 years of service on May 1, 2015.

Wimbush has served on the boards of the Hampton Roads Association of Commercial Real Estate, Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, and the Monarch Bank Norfolk City Board.

On April 4, 2015, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Wimbush had been appointed to the Virginia Port Authority board.

On June 24, 2016, Governor McAuliffe reappointed Wimbush to a full five-year term ending June 30, 2021.

Wimbush has been a leader in several legal and civic organizations.