Leadership

Mike D’Amours, President (Owner)

Mike served our country with 6 years of military service, honorably discharged from the Navy then worked in the railroad industry (ConRail) for 20 years.  After which, Mike started Northern Rail Services (NRS) over 25 years ago with the goal of providing world class service to customers.  Mike has grown the business organically, ever increasing output and sales using internal resources and building strategies on the skillsets the organization already possessed.  Mike continuously seeks new ways to reinvest in his business to offer an even higher quality of product to his customers.  Through the years, Mike has endeavored to optimize the offering of NRS, building a robust team of employees focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, expanding into new markets, building a strong brand identity with an emphasis on employee and customer retention.  Mike embraces 5 core values in building the business and his teams: 1. Collaboration, empowering his team to make decisions in the best interest of customers. 2. Integrity, doing the right thing especially when one thinks no one is looking. 3.Innovation, challenging oneself to see what’s possible to meet the needs of the team, customer and company. 4. Growth, the growth of a company follows the growth of its team. And finally, 5. Service, being service minded and customer-oriented means that NRS cares about providing a quality experience to the clients we serve.  Mike believes anything is possible by aiming high, believing in the team and accepting the differences of the day as another opportunity to grow! 

Stephanie Zick, Chief Operating Officer

Northern Rail Services is committed to strong customer service, safety and a quality product.  In doing so a strong financial and organizational program is necessary to back that commitment along with a robust and well-trained workforce.  Stephanie is a founding member of Northern Rail Services and has been the backbone of growth through the years.  Stephanie as part of senior leadership directs NRS accounting policies, procedures and internal controls to meet NRS financial commitments to customers and vendors. Stephanie’s additional duties include collaborating with company leadership to set and drive the organizational vision, operational strategies, vision and mission.  In addition to managing company operations Stephanie oversees employee efficiencies, building a highly inclusive culture that encourages members to thrive translating into organizational goals being met.

Stan Pitchko, Vice President

Stan joined Northern Rail Services in April of 2023.  Stan’s experiences include customer service, facility management and strategic management in the private and public sectors.  Stan holds a Master of Business Administration from Isenberg School of Management (University of Massachusetts) with over 20 years in team building and project management.  Stan’s responsibilities are to translate strategic planning into actionable steps that include organizational-wide goal setting, performance management and operations planning with the leadership team.  Stan also oversees compliance measures in accordance with national, state, and local regulations, effective recruiting, professional development as well as building and maintaining trusting relationships with key customers, clients, partners and stakeholders.

Dave Walker, Senior Estimator and Project Manager

Dave has been with Northern Rail Services for over 11 years.  As senior estimator, Dave advanced and assumed the responsibility for bid administration, preparing full estimates on complex work.  Dave meticulously reviews all the criteria for projects, then demonstrates creativity and resourcefulness to gain the best pricing from vendors ensuring cost effective projects for our customers.  Project management builds off Dave’s estimating skill and is one of Dave’s strong attributes, managing and coordinating multiple projects to ensure each is completed on time and on budget.  Dave is a solid stakeholder on the senior leadership team offering his insight on the delegation of work, strategies that align with a customer’s priorities and optimization of deliverables, schedule and project budgeting.  Dave’s vast knowledge of the railroad industry is a company asset in keeping the project teams focused on the end goal.