GREENWICH, Conn., Oct. 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) (NYSE:GWR) announces the election of Michael Norkus to its board of directors, effective October 22, 2009. Mr. Norkus will serve on GWI's Governance Committee. Mr. Norkus is the founder and president of Alliance Consulting Group, which specializes in developing growth strategies for companies in consumer goods, manufactured products, commercial services, high-tech and retail industries. He was previously a partner and director with The Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Norkus currently serves on the board of directors of Overland Storage, Inc., where he chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee and serves on the Audit and Compensation Committees. He also serves on the board of directors of Acco Brands Corp., where he serves on the Nominating and Governance, Audit and Compensation Committees. Mr. Norkus holds a Ph.D. magna cum laude in law from the University of Hamburg, a master's in comparative business law from the University of Paris and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. "We are pleased to have Michael Norkus join our board," said GWI Chairman of the Board Mortimer B. Fuller III. "His extensive board-level, international experience guiding organizations through growth and change makes him an excellent addition to our board." GWI owns and operates short line and regional freight railroads in the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. Operations currently include 63 railroads organized in nine regions, with more than 6,800 miles of owned and leased track and approximately 3,000 additional miles under track access arrangements. GWI provides rail service at 16 ports in North America and Europe and performs contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers. "Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Genesee & Wyoming's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year. CONTACT: Michael Williams, Corporate Communications, Genesee & Wyoming Inc., 203-629-3722, DATASOURCE: Genesee & Wyoming Inc. CONTACT: Michael Williams, Corporate Communications, Genesee & Wyoming Inc., +1-203-629-3722, Web Site: http://www.gwrr.com/

Copyright