About

Eric G. Pitcher

5704 Foxgate Lane, Hinsdale, IL  60521

Mobile: 630-200-5821

ericgpitcher@gmail.com

Strengths

Successfully managing teams and projects for Fortune 500 companies in rapidly changing, competitive business and regulatory environments

Close multi-million-dollar deals in rail transportation, real estate, and retail energy

Develop and sell strategic products and services for capital intensive industry groups: rail transport, industrial real estate, electric/gas utilities, economic development agencies

Manage and design business development and government agency teams

Obtain state and local government entitlements for customer development projects

Experience  

Burlington Junction Railway, Burlington, IA

Director, Economic Development                                                                    2024 - current

Sales

Closed 20-year agreement to manage city-owned railroad in Iowa

Closed multi-year agreement to manage rail shipments for military base in Tennessee

Closed 1,500 car/year plastic resin shipper

Closed 500 car/year food products shipper

2% increase in total railcar volume 2024-2025

Project and Customer Management

Developed program to ship munitions from IA to U.S.East Coast via rail vs truck

Secured Fortune 500 food company to lead effort to create new port facility

BNSF Railway Company, Chicago, IL

Regional Manager, Economic Development                                                    2005 - 2024

Sales

$1+ Billion incremental rail freight sales from new/expanded customers

$4.3 Billion capital investment by new/expanded customers

Project and Customer Management

Elion Logistics Park - 55:  Leveraged $125 million 3rd party real estate investment trust with $21 million BNSF cash capital investment to create largest rail-served industrial park in Chicago area that is closed on BNSF.

11 M SF constructed (90% occupied)

Government incentives obtained

State funding for interstate highway interchange re-design

State-sponsored Enterprise Zone

Local government sponsored Tax Increment Financing District

The Grid @ Route 31

Negotiated and closed rail access for $200 M investment in former CAT facility and adjoining land, Montgomery, IL

Reich Bros. acquisition of 4 M SF, 325-acre CAT mfging facility

Ravago decision to locate 1.3 M SF plastic resin blending and distribution facility

Closed direct rail and intermodal projects:

General Mills (1.5 M SF distribution center)

Fairmount-Santrol, Wedron, IL (largest BNSF frac sand shipper)

Walmart, Elwood, IL (3.6 M SF distribution center)

U.S. Silica, Rochelle, IL (unit train frac sand processing/distribution plant)

Siemens AG, Ft. Madison, IA (windmill blade mfging plant)

American Crystal Sugars, Montgomery, IL (largest sugar distribution facility in N. Am.)

Bissell Home Care, Cypress Medical; (combined 1.2 M SF distribution centers) Elwood, IL

Lineage Logistics, Post Foods, Batory Foods; (combined 1.8 M SF distribution centers) Wilmington, IL

Michelin Tire Co., Wilmington, IL (2.0 M SF tire distribution center)

Transloading:   

Located new and expanded third party logistics firms on BNSF in Illinois (Aurora, Channahon, Galesburg, Litchfield, Rochelle), Iowa (Keokuk, Middletown) and Wisconsin (Prairie du Chien)

$30+ million annual revenue

Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Merrillville, IN

Director, Major Accounts and Economic Development                                           2004-2005

Management

Managed two sales departments responsible for providing $145 million annual gross margin contribution to a Fortune 500 electric and gas utility

Electric City Corp., Elk Grove Village, IL

Vice President, Marketing and Sales                                                                                 2003

• Sales: Closed $4 million sale of lighting systems to Chicago Public Schools
• Management: Supervised national sales and distributor team.
• Participated in driving stock price from $1.20/share to $2.40/share.

Trigen Energy Corp., White Plains, NY/Houston, TX                                                                             

Director, National Sales                                                                                                 2002

• Sales Management
  • Designed/implemented sales plan for startup energy services company
  • Closed initial natural gas sales in New England retail energy market

Enron Energy Services, Chicago, IL                                                                         1997-2001

Director, Midwest Region

• Management 
  • General Manager of 62 corporate and government accounts in 12-state region responsible for $4.5 billion of multi-year energy-commodity agreements
  • Hired and managed staff of 12 account managers in three offices (IL, IN, TX)
• Sales
  • Closed $200 million multi-year energy commodity and services contracts to large industrial and commercial customers 
  • Promoted deregulation of Illinois retail electric market to potential Enron customers

Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Merrillville, IN                                      1990-1997 Principal, Business Development                                               

• Management
  • Managed 10-person department responsible for attracting new customers
  • Supervised market managers in Germany and Japan
• Sales
  • Generated $70 million gross margins from new multi-year energy contracts
  • Recruited major corporations to locate multi-million-dollar facilities in Northern Indiana, including: Georgia-Pacific Corp., US Gypsum, Steel Dynamics, Inc.
• Strategic Planning and Marketing Task Force Assignments
  • Wholesale power marketing plan for NIPSCO Industries
  • Corporate sales force re-engineering

Illinois Department of Commerce, Chicago, IL                                                        1983-1990     

Assistant Division Manager                             

• Management 
  • Supervised 22-person staff
  • Managed site location projects for 25 Japanese-owned companies to Illinois 1985 and 1990 representing over $1 billion in new capital investment
• Sales:
  • Mitsubishi Motors Manufacturing of America ($650 million)
    • Negotiated $85 M state incentive package
  • Sears, Roebuck & Co. headquarters relocation ($815 million)

Education

University of Chicago, Chicago, IL                   Illinois State University, Normal, IL     

MBA - Graduate School of Business                   Bachelor of Science, History and English

University of Oklahoma

Norman, OK

Graduate, Economic Development Institute

Completed all course work required for final exam for CEcD certification             

Affiliations

Traffic Club of Chicago, President

Association of Industrial Real Estate, member

Illinois Development Council, Past President

International Economic Development Council, member

Midwest Association of Rail Shippers, member

University of Chicago, Alumni Association and Graduate School of Business Club

Wisconsin Economic Developers Association, member

CCIM, member

Candor Health Education, Treasurer, and board member