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Norfolk Southern Executive Compensation (FY25)

NSC · Atlanta, GA · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2025

The Norfolk Southern brief, $1,500

Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
From $1,200 for the board report; $2,400 for both.
Data as of September 19, 2026Latest filing (8-K): May 8, 2026
9 filings cited on this page
A report that fails to generate is refunded in full
Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
Norfolk Southern brief$1,500Get the executive brief
355 figures on this page: 349 cited to the filing that reported them, 6 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
Chief executive, fiscal 2025
◇
Mark George
Latest say-on-pay support
=
May 7, 2026
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
What changed from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025
The figures that moved, and by how much. Analysis of these figures is part of the Velarion platform.
Chief executive total compensation — Mark George: $8,985,660 → $16,245,050 (80.8% higher)
Say-on-pay support: 95.3% → 94.5% (0.8 points lower)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is Norfolk Southern's chief executive and what were they paid?
Mark George, President & Chief Executive Officer, received $16,245,050 in total compensation for fiscal 2025. Compared with the $8,985,660 reported for fiscal 2024, George's total was 80.8% higher.
What was Norfolk Southern's say-on-pay result?
The say-on-pay proposal drew 94.5% of votes cast for or against in favor at the meeting held May 7, 2026 for fiscal 2025.
Which companies are in Norfolk Southern's peer group?
The disclosed peer group includes Canadian National Railway Company, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Caterpillar Inc., CSX Corporation and Deere & Company, among others.
What is Norfolk Southern's chief executive pay ratio?
The company reported a chief executive pay ratio of 137:1 for fiscal 2025, against median employee compensation of $118,895.

Executive compensation

Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.
Fiscal 2022
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Alan Shaw
President & Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Mark George
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Claude Elkins
Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Ann Adams
Executive Vice President & Chief Transformation Officer
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Alan Shaw
President & Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇◇—◇◇◇
Claude Elkins
Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer
◇—◇◇—◇◇◇
Ann Adams
Executive Vice President & Chief Transformation Officer
◇—◇◇—◇◇◇
Mark George
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇◇—◇◇◇
Paul Duncan
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
◇—◇◇—◇◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Alan Shaw
Former President & Chief Executive Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇◇—◇◇◇
John Orr
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Mark George
President & Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇◇◇—◇◇
Anil Bhatt
Executive Vice President & Chief Information & Digital Officer
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Paul Duncan
Former Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇◇——◇◇
Claude Elkins
Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Jason Zampi
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Mark George
President & Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Claude Elkins
Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
John Orr
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Jason Zampi
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
Anil Bhatt
Executive Vice President & Chief Information & Digital Officer
◇—◇◇◇◇◇◇
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. A negative change in pension value is shown but, as the company reports it, not included in the total.

Equity awards granted

Individual awards as disclosed: type, date, unit counts at each level, and grant date value.
Fiscal 2025
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
Anil BhattOptions/SARs◇——◇—◇◇
Anil BhattRSU◇——◇——◇
Anil BhattPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Claude E. ElkinsOptions/SARs◇——◇—◇◇
Claude E. ElkinsPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Claude E. ElkinsRSU◇——◇——◇
Jason A. ZampiRSU◇——◇——◇
Jason A. ZampiPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Jason A. ZampiOptions/SARs◇——◇—◇◇
John F. OrrRSU◇——◇——◇
John F. OrrOptions/SARs◇——◇—◇◇
John F. OrrPSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Mark R. GeorgePSU◇◇◇◇◇—◇
Mark R. GeorgeRSU◇——◇——◇
Mark R. GeorgeOptions/SARs◇——◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023, 2024 are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. Threshold, target and maximum apply only to performance awards and are never shown for time-based or option awards.

Outstanding awards

Awards still held at fiscal year end.
As disclosed at fiscal 2025 year end
OfficerAwardUnvested unitsMarket value of unvested unitsExercise priceExpires
Jason ZampiOption◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇—
RSU◇◇——
Anil BhattOption◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Mark GeorgeOption◇—◇—
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Claude ElkinsOption◇—◇—
RSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
John OrrOption◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Option◇—◇—
Option◇—◇—
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Severance and change in control

The terms as written in the agreements.
Anil Bhatt
Executive Vice President & Chief Information & Digital Officer · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance multiple◇
Severance base◇
Jason Zampi
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance multiple◇
Severance base◇
John Orr
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance multiple◇
Change-in-control multiple◇
Mark George
President & Chief Executive Officer · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion · citing a 2025 filing
Severance multiple◇
Severance base◇
Change-in-control multiple◇

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Richard H. Anderson
Board chair
◇◇———◇◇
John C. Huffard, Jr
◇◇———◇◇
Claude Mongeau
◇◇————◇
Francesca A. DeBiase
◇◇————◇
Philip S. Davidson
◇◇———◇◇
William Clyburn, Jr
◇◇———◇◇
Marcela E. Donadio
◇◇———◇◇
Gilbert H. Lamphere
◇◇———◇◇
Christopher T. Jones
◇◇———◇◇
Mary Kathryn Heidi Heitkamp
◇◇———◇◇
Lori J. Ryerkerk
◇◇————◇
Sameh Fahmy
◇◇————◇
Thomas Colm Kelleher
◇◇————◇
Mark R. George served on the board in fiscal 2025 and received no compensation for board service. Executive directors are typically paid through their executive roles, shown above.
Earlier years are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director fee schedule

The standing retainers and premiums the board pays, as published.
Board cash retainer◇
Total board retainer◇
Board chair premium◇
Nominating and governance chair◇
Nominating and governance member◇
Equity is delivered as restricted stock units.
Stock ownership guideline: 5x annual amount of quarterly fees ($600,000)

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2025
  • Canadian National Railway Company CNI
  • Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited CP
  • Caterpillar Inc. CAT
  • CSX Corporation CSX
  • Deere & Company DE
  • Eaton Corporation plc ETN
  • Emerson Electric Co. EMR
  • FedEx Corporation FDX
  • Honeywell International Inc. HON
  • Illinois Tool Works Inc. ITW
  • Parker-Hannifin Corporation PH
  • Union Pacific Corporation UNP
  • United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS
  • Waste Management, Inc. WM

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2025May 7, 2026=◇◇◇
2024May 8, 2025=◇◇◇
2023May 9, 2024=◇◇◇
2022May 11, 2023=◇◇◇
2021May 12, 2022=◇◇◇
2020May 13, 2021=◇◇◇

Chief executive pay ratio

As calculated and reported by the company.
Ratio
◇
Median employee compensation
◇
Chief executive total compensation
◇
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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact Norfolk Southern disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where Norfolk Southern sits against its disclosed peers — percentile position by role and by pay element, and the ranking behind it. The disclosed peer group is free; comparisons across it are part of the Velarion platform.
Executive Compensation Report — $1,500
Written compensation analysis
A read of the pay program as designed and as paid: incentive structure, goal rigor, the alignment between the committee's stated philosophy and what the numbers show.
Executive Compensation Report — $1,500
Board and governance analysis
Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.
Board Governance Report — $1,200
Realizable pay
What the awards above are actually worth today against what they were valued at on grant, and what the gap says about the pay-for-performance link.
Velarion Intelligence
Adviser switching and vote outcomes
Two datasets covering compensation-adviser changes and what followed a contested vote. Both are part of the Velarion platform.
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Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
355 figures on this page: 349 cited to the filing that reported them, 6 calculated from figures it prints.
349 cited to the filing
6 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0001193125-26-214920
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  2. 0001193125-26-127620
    2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table · 2025 Non-Employee Director Compensation Table · 2025 Summary Compensation Table · Director Compensation · and 3 more sections
  3. 0001193125-25-116497
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  4. 0001193125-25-066914
    2024 Summary Compensation Table · Compensation Discussion and Analysis
  5. 0001193125-24-139405
  6. 0001552781-23-000279
  7. 0001552781-23-000213
    Summary Compensation Table
  8. 0001552781-22-000404
  9. 0001552781-21-000427
Cite this data
This page is free to cite. Attribution we ask for:
Velarion, “Norfolk Southern executive compensation, FY2022–FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/NSC (accessed 2026).
Short form: data: Velarion

The Norfolk Southern brief, $1,500

Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
From $1,200 for the board report; $2,400 for both.
Get the executive briefGet the board briefNo account needed.
9 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
A report that fails to generate is refunded in full
Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
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Peers Norfolk Southern discloses

The companies named in NSC's own disclosed peer group.

Caterpillar Inc.CSX CorporationDeere & CompanyEaton Corporation plcEmerson Electric Co.FedEx CorporationHoneywell International Inc.Illinois Tool Works Inc.Parker-Hannifin CorporationUnion Pacific CorporationUnited Parcel Service, Inc.Waste Management, Inc.

Terms on this page

Say-on-Pay VoteCEO Pay RatioMedian Employee CompensationAll companies

Free to read and cite. Redistribution or bulk use of the dataset requires a data license. Talk to us about the data license.

Cite this data
APA
Velarion Company Intelligence. (2026). Velarion database: executive and board compensation data (Version 2026Q3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854
BibTeX
@misc{velarionData2026,
  author = {{Velarion Company Intelligence}},
  title = {Velarion database: executive and board compensation data},
  year = {2026},
  version = {2026Q3},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.22283854},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854}
}
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