Kansas City Southern (KCS) has promoted Rodrigo Flores from assistant vice president to vice president sales and marketing automotive, responsible for the automotive business unit in the United States and coordinating closely with the sales and marketing team at Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (KCSM). He succeeds Kelley Anderson, who has retired.
Flores has more than 20 years of experience in the transportation industry. He joined the predecessor to KCSM in 1997 as a manager in external reporting, after serving as senior auditor with Price Waterhouse in Mexico City.
In 2000, he joined KCSM’s treasury department as director, serving until 2006 when he accepted a position as assistant vice president and assistant treasurer at KCS corporate headquarters in Kansas City. Flores transitioned from treasury into sales and marketing as assistant vice president of the automotive business unit where he has served since 2016.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Banking and Commerce School (Escuela Bancaria y Comercial / EBC) and studied business administration at the Mexico Autonomous Institute of Technology (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México - ITAM).
“Rodrigo is a talented sales, marketing and finance professional, who over the past three years has forged strong relationships with KCS’ automotive customers in the United States and Mexico,” said KCS executive vice president and chief marketing officer Michael J. Naatz. “His experience makes him ideal for his new role and ensures a smooth transition for customers and the team he leads.”
“We are grateful to Kelley for his leadership and for sharing his transportation expertise with KCS over the past eight years,” said Naatz. “He has had a fantastic 40-year career and we wish him and his family the very best for a long and healthy retirement.”
Anderson, who has more than 40 years of transportation experience, retried as vice president sales and marketing automotive after serving in the role since 2011. He joined KCS from RJ Corman Railroad Group, where he served as vice president strategic sales and marketing. Before that, he spent 11 years with United Parcel Service. He also held positions with BNSF Railway, Southern Pacific and Burlington Northern Railroads.