Louis W. Menk*

Louis Menk was born in 1918 in Englewood, Colorado, and was the oldest of four children. The family moved to Denver, where all was well until Menk was 13. Then, in the span of one year, his three-year-old sister and a younger brother were badly burned in two separate accidents. The resulting medical bills and the Great Depression severely strained his family's finances.

A brakeman for the Union Pacific Railroad, Menk's father spent the rest of his life paying medical bills. Menk pitched in by mowing lawns, shoveling snow, selling newspapers, caddying, and working in a service station.

After he graduated from high school, Menk got a job as a messenger in the telegraph office of Union Pacific. He started working night shifts and attending college during the day.

Finally, he found it impossible to continue his education. It wasn't long, however, before he was promoted into the front office at Union Pacific. In 1962, he became president of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway; at 44, he was the youngest president in the railway's history. Three years later, he was drafted as president and CEO of Burlington Lines. Later that year, he joined Northern Pacific, one of Burlington's parent companies, as president.

In 1970, a merger of five railroads created Burlington Northern, Inc., the largest single system of rail routes and the third largest railroad in the nation. Menk was named president, and a year later he became the railroad's chairman and CEO. After a 40-year railroad career, Menk stepped down from the presidency of Burlington Northern in 1978 and retired as chairman in 1981.

Menk said that luck played a big role in his success, but he insisted, "I don't think it was the result of any particular talents I had. I just think if you work harder than anyone else, even if you really don't aspire to much, the rest will all come."