CSX to Require CEOs to Get Annual Exam

The board of directors of CSX has decided that henceforth all of its CEOs will have an annual visit with a doctor.

The board will adopt the policy change in the wake of the death of former CEO E. Hunter Harrison last month.

The health of the 72-year-old Harrison had been an issue when he was hired as CEO last spring.

Harrison was known to have health issues and the CSX board at the time insisted that his medical records be reviewed by an independent physician. But Harrison balked, saying that his doctor had cleared him to assume the CEO position.

The CSX board dropped its demand and Harrison took over the C suite at CSX in March.

Harrison died on Dec. 16 two days after taking a medical leave for unspecified health problems.

Railway Age magazine has reported that Harrison suffered from emphysema and it had been widely reported that he used supplemental oxygen.

Federal securities laws do not require companies to disclose executive health problems, but some firms provide that information because it might affect an investor’s decisions to buy or sell stock.

It is not uncommon for companies to be cagey about why their CEOs take medical leave.

United Continental Holdings, the parent company of United Airlines, for example disclosed that its CEO Oscar Munoz had been hospitalized but did not initially reveal in October 2015 that he had suffered a heart attack.

Munoz, who once headed CSX, underwent a transplant and returned to work the following year.

Thomas Flannery, managing partner at the executive search firm Boyden, described the matter of forcing an executive to share his or her medical history with a board of directors as a slippery slope because of privacy concerns. It could have a bigger downside than upside.

He said he encourages executives and their boards to be open about health problems and whether they affect the executive’s ability to fulfill his or her duties.

The CSX board plans to change its policy next month during a meeting, thus avoiding a vote on a resolution that was set to be introduced at the company’s annual meeting.

The policy will require the CEO to get a comprehensive physical performed by a medical provider chosen by the board, according to a letter submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

A CSX spokesman would not comment on the matter.

The shareholder vote had been proposed by John Fishwick, a Virginia attorney who owns 1,000 shares of CSX stock.

Tags: CSX, CSX board of directors, CSX CEOs, CSX executives, E Hunter Harrison, medical exams, medical leave, Oscar Munoz, physical exam, railroad executives, United Airlines