April 12, 2018
Union Pacific CFO and Kansas State University alumni Robert Knight to speak in College of Business Distinguished Lecture Series
Submitted by Brent Fritzemeier
Robert Knight, chief financial officer of Union Pacific Corporation, will be the spring 2018 speaker for the Kansas State University College of Business Administration's Distinguished Lecture Series.
The lecture will begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, April 12, in the K-State College of Business Building Lecture Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
Knight, who also is being honored this week at the college's 2018 Alumni Fellow, was named chief financial officer of Union Pacific in February 2004. In his position, he is responsible for all financial activities of both the corporation and Union Pacific Railroad.
Knight began his career with Union Pacific in 1980 and has held a variety of positions including serving as vice president and general manager — energy and vice president and general manager — automotive, and senior vice president — finance.
In 2014, Knight was ranked No. 2 on the Wall Street Journal's list of the Top Performing CFO's in the S&P 500. He was named as No. 1 CFO in the Airfreight and Surface Transportation sector in the Institutional Investor 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 rankings. He also was named the 2012 Kansas State College of Business Outstanding Financial Executive of the Year from the school's Finance Advisory Board. He is a member of the
Grupo Ferroviario Mexicano and TTX Company boards of directors.
Knight holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Kansas State University, where he also played baseball, and a master's degree in business administration from Southern Illinois University.
The Kansas State University College of Business Administration Distinguished Lecture Series brings successful business professionals to campus to share their knowledge and experience. Lectures are given every semester and are sponsored by Commerce Bank and the William T. Kemper Foundation.