General Counsel Interview With Vanessa Allen Sutherland
V
anessa L. Allen Sutherland is Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Norfolk
Southern Corporation, a publicly traded, major transporter of industrial products. Sutherland oversees the offices of Corporate Secretary, Government Relations, Law, Claims, and Insurance. She joined Norfolk Southern Corporation as Vice President Law in 2018 and was promoted to Senior Vice President Law - Government Relations and Chief Legal Officer in 2019. Before joining Norfolk Southern, she served as CEO and chairperson of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board in Washington, D.C.
What are the key issues you deal with? Sutherland: Each day can bring novel issues. That’s especially true as the pandemic wanes, but there are four topics that occupy most of my time. Those are public company oversight matters such as director and shareholder engagement or risk management; handling external inquiries from claimants, litigants, shareholders, legislators and communities; handling personnel matters; and ongoing strategic planning for the department and company. Additionally, I try to keep challenges like climate change and social justice in mind, and focus on environmental, social and governance issues that affect the company and its customers.
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