James H. Evans, who served as Union Pacific Chairman of the Board from 1977 to 1985, died Monday, May 11, 2015. He was 94. UP did not report a cause of death.
Upon UP’s formation in 1969, Evans joined its management as President and a Director. He served as President from 1969 to 1977, at which time he became Chairman and CEO. He was part of a leadership team that championed UP’s merger with Missouri Pacific Railroad and Western Pacific Railroad, which helped set the stage for the company’s freight rail performance continuing today.
Evans joined UP from The Seamen’s Bank for Savings where he had served as President and then Chairman and President. Prior to that, he was Financial Vice President and Director of Dun & Bradstreet Inc., following the merger with Reuben H. Donnelley Corporation where he served as Secretary-Treasurer and General Counsel prior to being elected a Vice President.
Born June 26, 1920, in Lansing, Mich., Evans’ first position following his service as a Navy Lieutenant in World War II was with Harris Trust & Savings Bank in Chicago as an attorney and loan officer. In addition, Evans was a former Director of American Telephone and Telegraph Company, The Anaconda Company, Bristol-Myers Company, Citicorp/Citibank, Dun & Bradstreet Inc., General Motors Corporation and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. He was also a former Co-Chairman of The Business Roundtable and a former member of The Business Council.
Evans was a life trustee of the Central Park Conservancy, where he served as former Chairman. He also served on the governing boards of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, The University of Chicago, Centre College, where he was former Chairman of the Board; and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he was former Co-Chairman. He served as a member of the Board of Governors of the American National Red Cross, where he was former National Fund Chairman, and the President’s Committee on Environmental Quality. He was a trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the founding Chairman and life trustee of the National Recreation and Park Association.
Evans was also a member of the Racquet & Tennis Club and Knickerbocker Club, both of New York City; the Maidstone Club of East Hampton, New York; Alfalfa Club and the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C.