Wabtec Corporation has named Rafael Santana president and CEO, effective July 1, 2019. Santana will also become a Wabtec board member. He succeeds Raymond T. Betler, who will retire as a Wabtec executive and board member.
Santana has roughly 25 years of commercial, product management and executive leadership experience, including more than 10 years in the transportation industry.
He joined Wabtec earlier this year as president and CEO of the company’s freight segment after the merger of Wabtec and GE Transportation. Prior to that, he served as president and chief executive officer of the General Electric unit at GE Transportation, expanding the company’s regional footprint.
Santana also served as president and chief executive officer of GE in Latin America and as president and chief executive officer of the Turbomachinery Solutions Business of GE Oil & Gas.
He earned an engineering degree from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil.
Santana will be based at Wabtec’s new headquarters in Pittsburgh, starting this fall.
“I am deeply honored that the board has selected me to succeed Ray as Wabtec’s next president and CEO, and to build on this company’s solid foundation of growth,” said Santana. “Wabtec has a rich history of meeting the needs and expectations of our investors, customers and employees. Since merging GE Transportation and Wabtec, we have been hard at work ensuring we hit our operational, financial and synergy commitments. I am committed to delivering on these efforts. Based on our first quarter results, we are off to a solid start and excited about our future.”
Betler, who joined Wabtec in 2008, was named president and chief executive officer in 2014. He began his career in 1979 as a design engineer with the former Westinghouse Transportation Division, and in 1994 was named president of the unit, which later became ADtranz and now Bombardier Transportation.
“After 40 years in the transportation industry and a career that started with Westinghouse Transportation and culminated with Wabtec, the time is right to transition leadership of this great company to Rafael, who will build on our success and ensure a strong future for the new Wabtec. Throughout my career, I have been humbled by the commitment and hard work of our people and their passion to create a purpose-driven company. Together, we have raised the bar on safety, quality, talent and value,” said Betler.