Art Shoener, a fourth-generation railroader, began his career working summers for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in his hometown of Garrett, Indiana, while attending the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana. Upon graduation, he entered the Missouri Pacific Railroad’s management training program in 1968, reaching the rank of superintendent by the age of 26.

When Missouri Pacific Railroad merged with Union Pacific Railroad in 1983, he was general manager of the Eastern Region in Little Rock, Arkansas, then general manager at Portland, Oregon and then Kansas City, Missouri. In 1987, he was promoted to assistant vice president service resources in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1989 to vice president field operations and in 1991 to executive vice president operations, a position he held until 1997.

From 1997 to 2005, Shoener ran a transportation consulting firm in Indianapolis, Indiana, serving international and domestic clients, representing suppliers and several Class I railroads.

In January 2005, Shoener was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Kansas City Southern and president and chief executive officer of The Kansas City Southern Railway Company.

Shoener serves on the board of directors of the Standard Car Truck Company and the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, and is a board trustee of the University of Evansville.

Shoener holds a program management development certificate from Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a bachelor of science degree from the University of Evansville. Shoener and his wife, Sharon, reside in Leawood, Kansas and are the parents of Ryan, a fifth-generation railroader.