2008 Business Hall of Fame

MATTHEW K. ROSE OF BNSF TO BE HONORED AS BUSINESS EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

Matthew K. Rose, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, will be honored Wednesday, Oct. 1, as Fort Worth’s Business Executive of the Year during the 39th annual Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame dinner. The event is sponsored by Texas Wesleyan University, the Fort Worth Business Press and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Proceeds from the event benefit the Texas Wesleyan University School of Business Administration and Professional Programs by providing scholarships for business students.

Rose was elected Chairman of Burlington Northern Santa Fe in March 2002. He was made President and Chief Executive Officer on December 7, 2000. In June 1999, he became President and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for all operations and marketing activities. He had been Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer since August 1997, and he was responsible for coordinating transportation, maintenance, quality, purchasing, labor relations and information services activities. From May 1996 to August 1997, Rose served as Senior Vice President-Merchandise Business Unit.

He joined Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) in 1993, and was named Vice President-Vehicles and Machinery in June 1994. In January 1995, he was named Vice President-Southern Region Field Marketing for the Merchandise Business Group. He was appointed Vice President-Chemicals following the merger of Burlington Northern Inc. and Santa Fe Pacific Corporation in September 1995.

Rose holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Missouri, where he majored in marketing and minored in logistics. He is a member of the Board of Directors of AMR Corporation; the Board of Directors of Centex Corporation; the Board of Directors of the Association of American Railroads; the Board of Directors of American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity; Texas Governor’s Business Council; the Business Roundtable; the Business Council; the Board of Trustees of Texas Christian University; and the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.

Ross Perot Jr. will give the keynote address at the Business Hall of Fame dinner. Perot is Chairman of the Board of Perot Systems Corporation, a multi-billion dollar global technology company with headquarters in Plano and more than 24,000 associates in North America, Europe and Asia. Named chairman in September 2004, Perot spent the previous four years as the company’s president and CEO and has served on the board of directors since 1988.

Roger Williams, chairman of Texas Victory 2008 and former Texas Secretary of State, will deliver remarks of a friend. As Texas' 105th Secretary of State, Williams worked to promote economic development, investment and job creation in Texas. He also served as the state’s Chief Liaison for Texas Border and Mexican Affairs as well as Chair of the state’s 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Response Strike Force.

U.S. Representatives Joe Barton, R-Arlington, and Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, will also speak at the dinner.

Rose will be speaking at Texas Wesleyan University at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 1, in Martin Hall.

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