The Greenbrier Companies announced a series of executive promotions including the promotion of Brian Comstock to EVP of Sales and Marketing. Comstock will report to Mark Rittenbaum, executive vice president and chief commercial and leasing officer. As Greenbrier’s chief commercial officer, Rittenbaum continues to have responsibility for global leasing and commercial functions in North America and Latin America. Working with Rittenbaum and regional executives, Comstock will continue management of commercial sales and marketing activities and strategy for the Americas, supervising market activity in North America, Brazil and greater Latin America.

Internationally, Comstock will work with CEO Bill Furman, Greenbrier International President Jim Cowan and Alejandro Centurion, president of GMO. Greenbrier’s board of directors also designated Comstock a corporate executive officer and he will join Greenbrier’s executive committee.

In addition to Comstock’s promotion, Greenbrier announced the following promotions and expanded assignments:

• Owen Whitehall was promoted to executive vice president, GMO North American Operations and Global Sourcing, reporting to Centurion. This move will deploy Whitehall’s broad experience in global sourcing and manufacturing operations for future growth.
• Martin Graham will assume the expanded role of executive vice president, GMO International Operations and Global Engineering, also reporting to Centurion. He will continue to maintain oversight of all engineering and quality assurance functions company-wide and provide GMO support for all company activities in North America, Europe, GCC and Brazil.
• Alejandro Arias was promoted to vice president of Mexican Operations and Zane Peterson was promoted to vice president of Global Sourcing, both reporting to Whitehall.
• Oziel Salinas joined the company as general manager of Greenbrier’s Gunderson-GIMSA joint venture, serving in Arias’ previous role and reporting to him.

This structure supports Greenbrier’s broad-based global growth strategy, anchored by Gunderson, its flagship manufacturing company in the U.S. and supported by factories and technical centers in Mexico, Brazil, Poland and Romania, along with a growing presence in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.

Furman said, “Today’s promotions advance two goals at Greenbrier. We are preparing for the future by tapping our executive talent pool for greater contributions as part of our ongoing succession planning efforts. We are also sharpening the efficiency and responsiveness of our unified Global Manufacturing Organization to better serve our customers and our commercial colleagues at Greenbrier International. As a result of these changes, Greenbrier is better positioned to respond to a broader span of addressable markets where Greenbrier’s Commercial, Leasing, Manufacturing and Engineering teams are actively serving demand for global products and services.

“At Greenbrier we know the source of all value is our customers.  By these actions, we are rededicating ourselves to this principle and building an organization focused on providing the best experience for our customers. Brian Comstock, Owen Whitehall, Alex Arias and Zane Peterson have been key contributors to Greenbrier’s growth and success. Their advancement demonstrates the vitality of our organization and our commitment to meet the needs of our customers for years to come.”