Kansas City Southern, a transportation holding company with railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico and Panama, announced Wednesday that its longtime senior vice president and chief legal officer, W. James Wochner, is retiring.

Before Jim Wochner, who has been with KCS since 1981, retires March 31, 2019, the company's associate general counsel and corporate secretary, Adam Godderz, will step up to serve as general counsel Jan. 1. He joined KCS in 2007 as associate GC, a position that made him responsible for supporting sales, marketing, purchasing and financial transactions.

Godderz was appointed as vice president of labor relations in 2015, but he left that position to rejoin the legal department earlier this year. Before he went to work for KCS, Godderz was a procurement attorney for Embarq Corp., a communications company headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Earlier in his career, he was an associate in the commercial law department of the Kansas City-based firm of Stinson Morrison Hecker, which merged with Minneapolis-based Leonard Street and Deinard in 2014, creating Stinson Leonard Street.

KCS president and CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer said in a prepared statement that Godderz “has demonstrated exceptional talent as a lawyer and adviser to the CEO and board of directors, as well as very strong leadership qualities.”

Ottensmeyer described Wochner as an “industry icon” who is “highly respected by his peers and colleagues.” Wochner began practicing law in 1972 and also worked for AT&T, the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Nebraska Public Service Commission.  

KCS was founded in 1887 and now has a 6,600-mile rail network. Its primary U.S. holding is The Kansas City Southern Railway Company in the central and south central parts of the country. It also operates Kansas City Southern de Mexico, a rail network in northeastern and central Mexico, and has a 50-percent interest in The Panama Canal Railway Company.  

In October, KCS reported third-quarter record revenues of $699 million, an increase of 6 percent over the prior year. Its reported operating income hit $265 million, a 14-percent spike from last year. 

Ottensmeyer said at the time that KCS had overcome a “challenging third quarter, as network congestion in northern Mexico led to a difficult operating environment.

“However, we have taken steps that we are confident will restore our service levels and allow us to continue delivering strong and diversified franchise cross-border volume and revenue growth, led by increased refined product shipments to Mexico and strength in Intermodal and Automotive commodity groups,” he added.