Meet the Team

Hand-picked experts on a mission to steer the railway system towards success and innovation

Meet the Team

AllAcademyConsulting & EngineeringCorporateRecruitment ServicesAll
CEO

Harald Eller

COO

Gabrielle Costigan

President and Founder

Gordon Bachinsky

Director Academy & Recruitment Services

Karsten Graf

Director of Consulting & Engineering

Jan Mys

Director Global Rail Media

Detlev Suchanek

Head of Sales

Thomas Dorfner

Head of IT

Florian Polterauer

Head of Recruitment Services South Eastern Europe

Nemanja Ristic

Head of Finance

Viktoria Salzbrunn

Head of Operations

Doris Wolfesberger

Senior Training Manager

John Schaefer

Senior Operations Officer - North America

Bharat Sharma

Senior Manager

Klaus Liebwald

Senior Manager

Andreas Oberhauser

Lead Technology Coordinator

Teever Handal

Senior Expert Data Architecture

Albert Hayr

Communications and Marketing Manager

Meenakshi Bhattacharya

Manager

Elena Crespo Domingo

Quality & Training Programs Manager

Christian Greifelt

Manager - Data Services

Sean Regehr

Senior Trainer

Carsten Baumgart

Senior Consultant

Roger Patricio Campbell

Senior Consultant

Pelayo Escobar

Senior Consultant

Kathrin Gabert

Senior Consultant

Raphael Marotta

Senior Content Manager

Martin Murowski

Senior Consultant

Xavier Rodriguez Somoza

Senior Track Engineer

Brad Kerchof

Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist

Jack Lindquist

Senior Welding Specialist

Allen Pierson

Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist

Jeff Schweisthal

Consultant

Pablo Merayo

Consultant

Maria Rasinger

Project Coordinator

Holden Duquette

Editor

Alexandra Schöner

Marketing/Distribution Lead

Sabine Braun

Application & Infrastructure Administrator

David Pollak

Management Assistant

Martina Rossegger

Office Assistant North America

Andrea Cristina Castro Mora

Office Assistant

Elisabeth Papathanassopoulou

Data Services Specialist

Casslynn Ennis

Data Services Specialist

Henry Kwees

Data Services Specialist

Shane Kweens

Field Specialist

Steve Gainey

Field Specialist

George Senterfitt III

Trainer

Richard Grewe

Trainer

Snježana Nedić

Hydraulics Trainer

Jürgen Poscher

Trainer

Nataša Tatić

Assistant Trainer

Oliver Fabrizius

Assistant Trainer

Nicolas Suszka

Assistant to Training Area

Christina Lyons

Trainee

Nabih Agha

Trainee

Niraj Ghule

Trainee

Priyal Kadu

Trainee

Igor Lukic

Trainee

Jessika Röhl

Trainee

Hannah Strippel

CEO

Harald Eller

Harald co-founded Global Rail Group in 2021 as the CEO after being part of Senior Management in the Plasser & Theurer Group for 25 years.
He worked in senior management positions in the railway industry for nearly 30 years, shaping the companies profiles, actively designing strategies, and creating strong international teams. His education in finance with early steps in international auditing and consulting, combined with his long-lasting  career in a high-tech global environment, allows Harald to lead the challenge of creating the first ever knowledge provider group of companies for railway superstructure (Global Rail Group).
During his career he has founded 3 start-ups, taught Managing Accounting as an associated professor at the Instituto de Empresa, been member of numerous Boards of Directors at Plasser & Theurer Group and in his spare time supports NGOs for  kids and women health and education.

COO

Gabrielle Costigan

Gabrielle brings 20 years of experience to Global Rail in a range of different industries such as Manufacturing, Production and Technology. She started her career in 1999 with a  global, international leader in consultancy company with headquarters in the United Sates.
Between 2007-2018, she then spent 10 years with an oil and gas super major, where she held numerous leadership positions in  Austria and the Middle East.
In 2018, she was the Managing Director of the first innovation hub in Vienna, Austria (weXelerate) which opened its doors in late 2017. Gabrielle joined Global Rail Group as the COO in 2021.

President and Founder

Gordon Bachinsky

Mr. Bachinsky has been the President of Advanced Rail Management since 1990. Gordon is skilled at the management of employees and the supervision of large projects and contracts. A recognized leader in the field of rail grinding strategies and the field of wheel/rail interaction, Gordon is called upon to help direct an industry in search of practical long-term solutions on the cutting edge of technology and research.

Mr. Bachinsky brings more than 45 years of railway and rail transit experience to the ARM team. Much of his experience relates to the management of rail grinding programs and overall optimization of the wheel/rail interface. Having worked with many railways and rail transit systems in North America, Mr. Bachinsky has first-hand knowledge of how to design and implement an effective turnkey vehicle/track interaction strategy.

Director Academy & Recruitment Services

Karsten Graf

Karsten has 25 years+ experience in the Professional Services industry in Senior Management roles in various areas (IT, Engineering, HR Services).He worked in large global organizations and start-up environment and is passionate about developing new businesses and organizations. Karsten has been with the Global Rail Group since March 2023 and in charge of the Business Lines Academy and Recruiting Services.

Director of Consulting & Engineering

Jan Mys

Jan has more than 28 years of experience in Infrabel, having held various positions such as Track Design Manager, General Manager at Asset Management Direction and was responsible for Budgeting & Controlling. Jan is also a Guest Professor at the Ghent University for Railways since 2011.
He joined Global Rail Group in 2021 as the Director of Global Rail Consulting & Engineering.

Director Global Rail Media

Detlev Suchanek

Detlev has more than 40 years of experience. Previously he worked in the publishing industry managing authors and conceptualizing books at Publishing Director at DVV Media Group (Eurailpress | RailwayGazette | Alba ÖPNV | Griephan). A railway enthusiast and collector of railway antiques, Detlev is responsible for specialized knowledge and creation of media material related to transportation, logistics and mobility. He was the founder of the predecessor company of now Global Rail Media in 2017.

Head of Sales

Thomas Dorfner

Thomas has more than 25 years of experience in the railway supply industry, predominately working in the global marketplace building up green field markets as the Director of International Sales and Regional Sales Director Asia-Pacific for Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH.
His main objectives were marketing strategies and activities such as  search for and establishment of a suitable distribution networks for noise and vibration mitigation system in railway superstructures.  He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering (B.Sc.) and an MBA from Henley Mgmt College, UK.
He has joined  Global Rail Group in July 2022.

Head of IT

Florian Polterauer

Florian brings more than 12 years experience as Business Development Manager at Plasser & Theurer and joined Global Rail Group in July 2021 right at the conception of the company.

Head of Recruitment Services South Eastern Europe

Nemanja Ristic

Nemanja has over 8 years experience in the rail industry on the German market. He been with Global Rail Group since 2022 as the Head of Recruiting. He graduated with an Engineer´s degree in Traffic Engineering from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering at the University of East of Sarajevo.

Head of Finance

Viktoria Salzbrunn

Viktoria has over 15 years of experience in  accounting and finance.
She has joined Global Rail Group in September 2022.

Head of Operations

Doris Wolfesberger

Doris has 13 years of experience in Banking and Consulting industry. She holds a Master’s in Finance, Accounting & Taxation.  From her various roles as subject-matter expert, project and team lead, she brings a lot of knowledge to the general management and operations topics.
She joined Global Rail Group in May 2022 as Head of Operations.

Senior Training Manager

John Schaefer

John brings over 35 years of combined experience in the areas of Railroad Technologies, Industrial Maintenance, Instructional. He is retired from the US Army and had worked as an Automotive Manufacturing Engineer for IMS Gear and as a Plasser American Field Service Representative. He currently holds a Master of Project Management and a B.S. in Technical Management and is an active member of AREMA Committee 27. John joined Global Rail Group in 2019.

Senior Operations Officer - North America

Bharat Sharma

Bharat has over 14 years of experience in a wide range of industries from medical devices, aerospace and  off highway/earth moving equipments in various roles from engineering to business operations ensuring  business growth and running efficient business operations. He has a Masters & Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and  joined Global Rail Group in April 2023.

Senior Manager

Klaus Liebwald

Klaus has more than 25 years of professional experience in the areas of maintenance and development of railroad infrastructure. His focus of the last years was international project management, asset management, lecturer/trainer, support and preparation of certifications.
He joined Global Rail Group in 2023.

Senior Manager

Andreas Oberhauser

Andreas has more than 14 years of experience at Wiener Linien, where he held leading positions such as Head of the Department of Infrastructure Inspection. From 2011 he was responsible for the inspection of bridges, tunnels and stations, and was the Head of Permanent Way from 2018 onwards.
Andreas is also a lecturer at the TU Wien and FH St.Pölten on railway maintenance.  He joined Global Rail Group at the end of 2021.

Lead Technology Coordinator

Teever Handal

Teever has more than 38 years working experience in the rail industry. He spent 11 years with the Association of American Railroads at the Transportation Test Center helping develop vehicle dynamic simulation software, performing vehicle/track interaction and wheel/rail interaction research. He worked for a Progressive Rail Technologies providing truck performance and wheel impact detectors, and consulting on derailment analysis and vehicle/track interaction studies. Since 2014 Teever has been working for ARM in data analysis, as a wheel/rail interaction specialist, and technical expert in vehicle/track interaction. During his career he has provided assistance to clients in North America, Europe, Australia, Brazil, and India.

Senior Expert Data Architecture

Albert Hayr

Albert has more than 25 years of experience in software, IT and data projects as well as designing of comprehensive solutions for various industries, including implementation and operations.  He works as a multidisciplinary architect in the areas of enterprise, cloud, data, IT, systems and software. He joined Global Rail Group in October 2022.

Communications and Marketing Manager

Meenakshi Bhattacharya

Meenakshi has over 11 years of experience in Brand Communication and Marketing. With a Masters in Advertising & Brand Communication and an international, multicultural background, she brings a global and adaptive perspective to the Communications team. She joined Global Rail Group in 2022.

Manager

Elena Crespo Domingo

Elena has more than 6 years experience in the railway infrastructure sector, including different roles ranging from new line design consultancy in her previous experience at Plasser & Theurer, where she was part of the Technology Center Purkersdorf and was involved in the development of smart systems for the evaluation of the infrastructure condition.
She has an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and did part of her studies in RWTH Aachen University.
Elena joined Global Rail Group in September 2021 and worked on projects for the optimization and digitalization of railway superstructure asset management, with a strong focus on track geometry and ballast bed condition.

Quality & Training Programs Manager

Christian Greifelt

Christian has 14 years of work experience and  was most recently employed at Plasser Robel Services /Deutsche Plasser in the role of responsible welding supervisor and deputy non-destructive testing (NDT) supervisor.
He is a mechanical engineer (B.Eng.) with further training as a welding engineer (IWE) and has various qualifications in welding and non-destructive testing in the field of rail vehicle maintenance.
He joined Global Rail Group in 2022.

Manager - Data Services

Sean Regehr

Sean has 10 years of railroad experience. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering and an M.Sc. in Transportation Engineering from the University of Manitoba, and is an active member of AREMA Committee 2.
He joined ARM/Global Rail Group in 2016.

Senior Trainer

Carsten Baumgart

Carsten brings more than 20 years experience in the rail industry in various roles as  a trainer, front cabin operator, tamping operator, machinist and locomotive driver, out of which, he worked for  6 years as a tamping operator and 15 years as a trainer. He previously worked for companies such as Swietelsky Germany, Krebs Gleisbau GmbH and Leonhard Weiss.
He joined Global Rail Academy in April 2021 as a trainer for front cabin operator, tamper and switch tamper certification with UEEIV.

Senior Consultant

Roger Patricio Campbell

Roger has more than 8 years of experience in different Railway and Transport companies. He was part of Track Engineer Department in ADIF Argentina and has 4 years experience as Senior Consultant in ACyA participating in large-scale projects. From 2021 he was the  Railway Track Coordinator for the Rail Baltic Project at IDOM in Spain.
He joined Global Rail Group as a Senior Consultant in May 2022.

Senior Consultant

Pelayo Escobar

Pelayo brings over 5 years of experience as a Project Manager Signalling at Liege Tram & Tel Aviv Tram (CAF Signalling) as well as a Global Solutions Engineer Manager at Thales. He joined Global Rail Group as a Senior Consultant in December 2022.

Senior Consultant

Kathrin Gabert

Kathrin has 11 years of experience working on various projects in the fields of studies, mobility concepts, traffic models and guidance systems.
She studied Business Administration with focus on Transport/Logistics and Market Research at Vienna University of Economics and Business. 
She joined Global Rail Group in September 2021.

Senior Consultant

Raphael Marotta

More than 12 years of experience within Heavy Haul Railways, covering positions such as Railway Expert and Senior Engineer being responsible for vehicle/track interaction , track geometry monitoring as well as maintenance strategy. He also gives lectures at IPOG and is a researcher at Instituto Militar de Engenharia.  Raphael joined Global Rail Group in 2023.

Senior Content Manager

Martin Murowski

Martin’s first contact with track construction machines was in 2009, when he was working for NEWAG in Oberhausen. After 9 years there and some experience abroad, he switched to Deutsche Plasser as project manager and estimator. Martin joined Global Rail Group in February 2022.

Senior Consultant

Xavier Rodriguez Somoza

Xavier has  more than 14 years of experience in the railway sector, from site works, maintenance and project management to engineering.
He worked for 6 years as a Track Maintenance and Works Manager at RATP (Paris, France) in all systems (commuter rail, metro and tram), and as O&M Engineer at CAF (Spain) on urban rail projects with focus on track maintenance.
Xavier has an M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of A Coruña, having also studied in France and Scotland. He joined Global Rail Group in 2022.

Senior Track Engineer

Brad Kerchof

Brad is currently working part-time for ARM/Global Rail Group with the emphasis on projects involving track maintenance and inspection and brings 42 years of work experience with two Class 1 railroads – Conrail and Norfolk Southern. His first 32 years were with Maintenance-of-Way, including assignments like Division Engineer in Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Birmingham, where he was responsible for track and bridge inspection, maintenance and development of capital programs. During his last 10 years with NS, he served as the Director of Research & Tests (track geometry testing, derailment investigation, wheel-rail performance research, mechanical and track failure analysis and materials testing). 
Since 2012 he has been an annual presenter at the Wheel-Rail Interface conference.  

Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist

Jack Lindquist


Jack Lindquist has a wealth of practical rail experience, spanning over 40 years. His work with ARM is primarily concerned with all quality issues related to rail profile grinding practices.
As a welder foreman, Jack was responsible for all aspects of project – scheduling, team training, quality control, troubleshooting and problem resolution, and contractor relations. In addition, his extensive background in heavy equipment operation provides the ARM team with a high level of expertise in operational safety of different types of large equipment.
ARM makes extensive use of his skills and experience as Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist. He is responsible for oversight of rail profile grinding operations, as well as implementing new wheel and rail profile maintenance and repair techniques incorporating the use of range vision (laser strobe and camera) optical measurement systems. 

Senior Welding Specialist

Allen Pierson

Allen has been a member of AWS for 45 years and a member of Arema Committee 4 for 40 years. He has Certified AWS railroader welding practices, is an AWS visual weld inspector,and works as  a Level 2 UT operator. For 40 years he worked on 3 railroads Penn Central Conrail Norfolk Southern. Allen is a welder instructor for ARM since 2014.

Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist

Jeff Schweisthal


Before joining ARM, Jeff worked for Loram Maintenance of Way Inc. for 15 years, operating and maintaining rail grinding equipment.  Since joining ARM in 2005, he has managed turnkey rail grinding programs on many transit systems including San Jose (VTA), San Diego (Trolley), Edmonton Transit, Dallas (Trinity Railway Express), Boston (MBTA), SCRRA/Metrolink, BART, and others.  His background in the operations and maintenance of rail grinding equipment enables him to determine the capabilities and assess the performance of various grinding units, and to effectively troubleshoot problems in the field.
He has an extensive knowledge of rail grinding pattern design, pattern application, grinding templates, optimized grinding speeds, and various QA/QC functions that impact grinding efficiency and performance.  He has served as a General Superintendent, Grind Superintendent, Maintenance Lead and Operator of Loram Grinding Machines – in addition to experience with Special Grinder Projects and Grinder Overhauls. 

Consultant

Pablo Merayo

Pablo has worked for 3 years developing functional, constructive and capacity railways projects at TRN Taryet. During his last years studying civil engineering, he used to work as an intern at Carandini, a firm specialized in lighting projects. He joined  Global Rail Group in April 2023.

Consultant

Maria Rasinger

Maria brings 4 years of work experience at the Institute of Transportation, where she was part of  the research unit for railway engineering at the Vienna University of Technology.
She studied M.Sc. Civil Engineering and M.Sc. Environmental Technology & International Affairs in Vienna and joined the Consulting team at Global Rail Group in 2023.

Project Coordinator

Holden Duquette

Holden brings over 6  years of experience in the railway industry, having worked in various positions at the  Canadian Pacific Railway (Quebec/Ontario Canada). Railway passion runs in his family with several generations working in railway. He joined Global Rail Group as Project Manager and Coordinator in April 2023.

Editor

Alexandra Schöner

Alexandra has 15 years of experience as an editor and started in a manga publishing house. She has a  Master of Arts  (M.A.) degree in Japanese and Romance Studies from University of Heidelberg (Germany).
She joined the predecessor company of  Global Rail Group in 2018.

Marketing/Distribution Lead

Sabine Braun

Sabine has over 30 years of experience in the marketing and publishing sector.
She has joined the predecessor company of Global Rail Group in 2017.

Application & Infrastructure Administrator

David Pollak

David brings 4 years of experience working as sysadmin and service technician in multiple enviroments in his role as the IT-Administrator of Global Rail Group since April 2023.

Management Assistant

Martina Rossegger

Martina has over 10 years of experience in management assistant functions in different companies. She worked at Plasser Ibérica for 7 years as management assistant and joined Global Rail Group in 2021.

Office Assistant North America

Andrea Cristina Castro Mora

Andrea has over 17 years of professional experience in the Administrative and Finance field, having worked at the American Embassy in Bogota Colombia. She has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration with Specialization in Finance and, recently she finished a program in Business, Accounting and Management at the  Red River College Polytech in Winnipeg, Canada.
She has joined Global Rail Group /ARM in November 2022.

Office Assistant

Elisabeth Papathanassopoulou

Elisabeth has over 17 years of professional experience in diverse business sectors. She joined Global Rail Group in April 2022.

Data Services Specialist

Casslynn Ennis

Casslynn has over 5 years experience in computer-aided engineering and mechanical design/maintenance. She graduated with a diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology in 2022. She joined  Global Rail Group/ARM in February 2021.

Data Services Specialist

Henry Kwees

Henry has 20 years professional experience with proprietary rail recognition software and on-rail specialized data collection. He is responsible for training of  new team members and joined ARM/Global Rail Group in March 2003.

Data Services Specialist

Shane Kweens

Shane has been involved in data collection, data processing and analysis of various data types for the past 20 years with ARM/Global Rail Group.   He uses this information to support railroad maintenance managers and internal grinding staff in  planning corrective and preventive rail maintenance.  He is also experienced in training internal and external clients on proprietary rail profile analysis software.  Shane holds a Diploma in Business Administration and Marketing. 

Field Specialist

Steve Gainey

Steve has over 10 years experience in the rail industry that ranges from rail car mechanic to frog/track welding and repair. Between 2007-2011 he was the Field Specialist and Road Foreman at G.A.T.X. and then at Bankhead/Holland LP (2011-2018) as Frog welding assist/welding foreman.
He joined Global Rail Group in 2021 as the  Field Specialist. 

Field Specialist

George Senterfitt III

George brings over 9 years of experience in the rail industry. He began is career in railway industry at LORAM and worked his way up from a general labourer to crew chief. He studied the task of rail grinding to an extend where he was able to increase the life of the rail by removing the defects while maintaining the shape of the head of the rail.
He is a rail maintenance specialist at Global Rail Group/ARM.

Trainer

Richard Grewe

Richard is a trained nuclear power plant operator. He has been working in the track construction sector as an electrical engineer/service technician since 2007 and has traveled worldwide to service machines. Richard joined Global Rail Group in January 2022.  

Trainer

Snježana Nedić

Snježana has a Bachelor’s degree in Traffic Engineering on Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering in Doboj. She joined Global Rail Group in February 2023.

Hydraulics Trainer

Jürgen Poscher

Jürgen is a  state-certified mechanical engineering technician and HWK business economist with more than 30 years of experience in the field of hydraulic drive and control technology, as well as many years as a hydraulics trainer. He joined Global Rail Group in March 2020.

Trainer

Nataša Tatić

Nataša studied at the Faculty of Technology-Chemical Engineering and  joined Global Rail Group in February 2023. 

Assistant Trainer

Oliver Fabrizius

Oliver has been Assistant Trainer at Global Rail Academy in Leverkusen since March 2022.  Before he started working here, he finished his training as mechatronics engineer at Deutsche Plasser (Plasser Robel Services) and thus has experience in the railway industry since 2018. 

Assistant Trainer

Nicolas Suszka

Nicolas, after finising his training as Mechatronics Engineer, joined Global Rail Group in March 2022 as Assistant Trainer. 

Assistant to Training Area

Christina Lyons

Christina has 7 years of experience as a management assistant in business and banking and 15 years of experience teaching in the U.S. She taught English Education at Austin Peay State University, Tennessee, and at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois. Christina received her PhD in English from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, FTSK Germersheim in 2003, her Master of Arts in Education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL, U.S. in 2007, and her Master of Arts in Translation from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, FTSK Germersheim in 1998.
She joined Global Rail Group in April 2021 as an Assistant to Training Area.

Trainee

Nabih Agha

Nabih is a working student at Global Rail Academy while doing his Master’s in Electrical Engineering at Bergische University of Wuppertal, focussing on coding and automation. He has joined Global Rail Group in March 2023.

Trainee

Niraj Ghule

Niraj is studying M.Sc. in Railway Systems Engineering at RWTH Aachen University and completed his Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. He joined Global Rail Group in October 2022.

Trainee

Priyal Kadu

Priyal is pursuing his Master’s in railway system engineering. He completed his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and has more than 2 years of experience in product development and project management. He joined Global Rail Academy in 2023 as a working student.

Trainee

Igor Lukic

Igor, after completing his degree at the University of Traffic in Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, joined Global Rail Group in February 2023 as a trainee for Technical Services.

Trainee

Jessika Röhl

Jessika is studying Media Design at the International University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, while she works in the field of content creation for Global Rail Academy.
She joined Global Rail Group in October 2022.

Trainee

Hannah Strippel

Hannah brings her Media Technology studies into the field of content and design creation, while gaining practical experience within Global Rail Academy.
She joined Global Rail Group in March 2022.

CEO

Harald Eller

COO

Gabrielle Costigan

President and Founder

Gordon Bachinsky

Head of Sales

Thomas Dorfner

Head of IT

Florian Polterauer

Head of Finance

Viktoria Salzbrunn

Head of Operations

Doris Wolfesberger

Senior Operations Officer - North America

Bharat Sharma

Communications and Marketing Manager

Meenakshi Bhattacharya

Application & Infrastructure Administrator

David Pollak

Management Assistant

Martina Rossegger

Office Assistant North America

Andrea Cristina Castro Mora

Office Assistant

Elisabeth Papathanassopoulou

CEO

Harald Eller

Harald co-founded Global Rail Group in 2021 as the CEO after being part of Senior Management in the Plasser & Theurer Group for 25 years.
He worked in senior management positions in the railway industry for nearly 30 years, shaping the companies profiles, actively designing strategies, and creating strong international teams. His education in finance with early steps in international auditing and consulting, combined with his long-lasting  career in a high-tech global environment, allows Harald to lead the challenge of creating the first ever knowledge provider group of companies for railway superstructure (Global Rail Group).
During his career he has founded 3 start-ups, taught Managing Accounting as an associated professor at the Instituto de Empresa, been member of numerous Boards of Directors at Plasser & Theurer Group and in his spare time supports NGOs for  kids and women health and education.

COO

Gabrielle Costigan

Gabrielle brings 20 years of experience to Global Rail in a range of different industries such as Manufacturing, Production and Technology. She started her career in 1999 with a  global, international leader in consultancy company with headquarters in the United Sates.
Between 2007-2018, she then spent 10 years with an oil and gas super major, where she held numerous leadership positions in  Austria and the Middle East.
In 2018, she was the Managing Director of the first innovation hub in Vienna, Austria (weXelerate) which opened its doors in late 2017. Gabrielle joined Global Rail Group as the COO in 2021.

President and Founder

Gordon Bachinsky

Mr. Bachinsky has been the President of Advanced Rail Management since 1990. Gordon is skilled at the management of employees and the supervision of large projects and contracts. A recognized leader in the field of rail grinding strategies and the field of wheel/rail interaction, Gordon is called upon to help direct an industry in search of practical long-term solutions on the cutting edge of technology and research.

Mr. Bachinsky brings more than 45 years of railway and rail transit experience to the ARM team. Much of his experience relates to the management of rail grinding programs and overall optimization of the wheel/rail interface. Having worked with many railways and rail transit systems in North America, Mr. Bachinsky has first-hand knowledge of how to design and implement an effective turnkey vehicle/track interaction strategy.

Head of Sales

Thomas Dorfner

Thomas has more than 25 years of experience in the railway supply industry, predominately working in the global marketplace building up green field markets as the Director of International Sales and Regional Sales Director Asia-Pacific for Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH.
His main objectives were marketing strategies and activities such as  search for and establishment of a suitable distribution networks for noise and vibration mitigation system in railway superstructures.  He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering (B.Sc.) and an MBA from Henley Mgmt College, UK.
He has joined  Global Rail Group in July 2022.

Head of IT

Florian Polterauer

Florian brings more than 12 years experience as Business Development Manager at Plasser & Theurer and joined Global Rail Group in July 2021 right at the conception of the company.

Head of Finance

Viktoria Salzbrunn

Viktoria has over 15 years of experience in  accounting and finance.
She has joined Global Rail Group in September 2022.

Head of Operations

Doris Wolfesberger

Doris has 13 years of experience in Banking and Consulting industry. She holds a Master’s in Finance, Accounting & Taxation.  From her various roles as subject-matter expert, project and team lead, she brings a lot of knowledge to the general management and operations topics.
She joined Global Rail Group in May 2022 as Head of Operations.

Senior Operations Officer - North America

Bharat Sharma

Bharat has over 14 years of experience in a wide range of industries from medical devices, aerospace and  off highway/earth moving equipments in various roles from engineering to business operations ensuring  business growth and running efficient business operations. He has a Masters & Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and  joined Global Rail Group in April 2023.

Communications and Marketing Manager

Meenakshi Bhattacharya

Meenakshi has over 11 years of experience in Brand Communication and Marketing. With a Masters in Advertising & Brand Communication and an international, multicultural background, she brings a global and adaptive perspective to the Communications team. She joined Global Rail Group in 2022.

Application & Infrastructure Administrator

David Pollak

David brings 4 years of experience working as sysadmin and service technician in multiple enviroments in his role as the IT-Administrator of Global Rail Group since April 2023.

Management Assistant

Martina Rossegger

Martina has over 10 years of experience in management assistant functions in different companies. She worked at Plasser Ibérica for 7 years as management assistant and joined Global Rail Group in 2021.

Office Assistant North America

Andrea Cristina Castro Mora

Andrea has over 17 years of professional experience in the Administrative and Finance field, having worked at the American Embassy in Bogota Colombia. She has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration with Specialization in Finance and, recently she finished a program in Business, Accounting and Management at the  Red River College Polytech in Winnipeg, Canada.
She has joined Global Rail Group /ARM in November 2022.

Office Assistant

Elisabeth Papathanassopoulou

Elisabeth has over 17 years of professional experience in diverse business sectors. She joined Global Rail Group in April 2022.

AllConsulting & Engineering
Director of Consulting & Engineering

Jan Mys

Senior Manager

Klaus Liebwald

Senior Manager

Andreas Oberhauser

Senior Expert Data Architecture

Albert Hayr

Manager

Elena Crespo Domingo

Senior Consultant

Roger Patricio Campbell

Senior Consultant

Pelayo Escobar

Senior Consultant

Kathrin Gabert

Lead Technology Coordinator

Teever Handal

Senior Consultant

Raphael Marotta

Senior Consultant

Xavier Rodriguez Somoza

Consultant

Pablo Merayo

Consultant

Maria Rasinger

Project Coordinator

Holden Duquette

Senior Track Engineer

Brad Kerchof

Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist

Jack Lindquist

Senior Welding Specialist

Allen Pierson

Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist

Jeff Schweisthal

Manager - Data Services

Sean Regehr

Data Services Specialist

Casslynn Ennis

Data Services Specialist

Henry Kwees

Data Services Specialist

Shane Kweens

Field Specialist

Steve Gainey

Field Specialist

George Senterfitt III

Director of Consulting & Engineering

Jan Mys

Jan has more than 28 years of experience in Infrabel, having held various positions such as Track Design Manager, General Manager at Asset Management Direction and was responsible for Budgeting & Controlling. Jan is also a Guest Professor at the Ghent University for Railways since 2011.
He joined Global Rail Group in 2021 as the Director of Global Rail Consulting & Engineering.

Senior Manager

Klaus Liebwald

Klaus has more than 25 years of professional experience in the areas of maintenance and development of railroad infrastructure. His focus of the last years was international project management, asset management, lecturer/trainer, support and preparation of certifications.
He joined Global Rail Group in 2023.

Senior Manager

Andreas Oberhauser

Andreas has more than 14 years of experience at Wiener Linien, where he held leading positions such as Head of the Department of Infrastructure Inspection. From 2011 he was responsible for the inspection of bridges, tunnels and stations, and was the Head of Permanent Way from 2018 onwards.
Andreas is also a lecturer at the TU Wien and FH St.Pölten on railway maintenance.  He joined Global Rail Group at the end of 2021.

Senior Expert Data Architecture

Albert Hayr

Albert has more than 25 years of experience in software, IT and data projects as well as designing of comprehensive solutions for various industries, including implementation and operations.  He works as a multidisciplinary architect in the areas of enterprise, cloud, data, IT, systems and software. He joined Global Rail Group in October 2022.

Manager

Elena Crespo Domingo

Elena has more than 6 years experience in the railway infrastructure sector, including different roles ranging from new line design consultancy in her previous experience at Plasser & Theurer, where she was part of the Technology Center Purkersdorf and was involved in the development of smart systems for the evaluation of the infrastructure condition.
She has an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and did part of her studies in RWTH Aachen University.
Elena joined Global Rail Group in September 2021 and worked on projects for the optimization and digitalization of railway superstructure asset management, with a strong focus on track geometry and ballast bed condition.

Senior Consultant

Roger Patricio Campbell

Roger has more than 8 years of experience in different Railway and Transport companies. He was part of Track Engineer Department in ADIF Argentina and has 4 years experience as Senior Consultant in ACyA participating in large-scale projects. From 2021 he was the  Railway Track Coordinator for the Rail Baltic Project at IDOM in Spain.
He joined Global Rail Group as a Senior Consultant in May 2022.

Senior Consultant

Pelayo Escobar

Pelayo brings over 5 years of experience as a Project Manager Signalling at Liege Tram & Tel Aviv Tram (CAF Signalling) as well as a Global Solutions Engineer Manager at Thales. He joined Global Rail Group as a Senior Consultant in December 2022.

Senior Consultant

Kathrin Gabert

Kathrin has 11 years of experience working on various projects in the fields of studies, mobility concepts, traffic models and guidance systems.
She studied Business Administration with focus on Transport/Logistics and Market Research at Vienna University of Economics and Business. 
She joined Global Rail Group in September 2021.

Lead Technology Coordinator

Teever Handal

Teever has more than 38 years working experience in the rail industry. He spent 11 years with the Association of American Railroads at the Transportation Test Center helping develop vehicle dynamic simulation software, performing vehicle/track interaction and wheel/rail interaction research. He worked for a Progressive Rail Technologies providing truck performance and wheel impact detectors, and consulting on derailment analysis and vehicle/track interaction studies. Since 2014 Teever has been working for ARM in data analysis, as a wheel/rail interaction specialist, and technical expert in vehicle/track interaction. During his career he has provided assistance to clients in North America, Europe, Australia, Brazil, and India.

Senior Consultant

Raphael Marotta

More than 12 years of experience within Heavy Haul Railways, covering positions such as Railway Expert and Senior Engineer being responsible for vehicle/track interaction , track geometry monitoring as well as maintenance strategy. He also gives lectures at IPOG and is a researcher at Instituto Militar de Engenharia.  Raphael joined Global Rail Group in 2023.

Senior Consultant

Xavier Rodriguez Somoza

Xavier has  more than 14 years of experience in the railway sector, from site works, maintenance and project management to engineering.
He worked for 6 years as a Track Maintenance and Works Manager at RATP (Paris, France) in all systems (commuter rail, metro and tram), and as O&M Engineer at CAF (Spain) on urban rail projects with focus on track maintenance.
Xavier has an M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of A Coruña, having also studied in France and Scotland. He joined Global Rail Group in 2022.

Consultant

Pablo Merayo

Pablo has worked for 3 years developing functional, constructive and capacity railways projects at TRN Taryet. During his last years studying civil engineering, he used to work as an intern at Carandini, a firm specialized in lighting projects. He joined  Global Rail Group in April 2023.

Consultant

Maria Rasinger

Maria brings 4 years of work experience at the Institute of Transportation, where she was part of  the research unit for railway engineering at the Vienna University of Technology.
She studied M.Sc. Civil Engineering and M.Sc. Environmental Technology & International Affairs in Vienna and joined the Consulting team at Global Rail Group in 2023.

Project Coordinator

Holden Duquette

Holden brings over 6  years of experience in the railway industry, having worked in various positions at the  Canadian Pacific Railway (Quebec/Ontario Canada). Railway passion runs in his family with several generations working in railway. He joined Global Rail Group as Project Manager and Coordinator in April 2023.

Senior Track Engineer

Brad Kerchof

Brad is currently working part-time for ARM/Global Rail Group with the emphasis on projects involving track maintenance and inspection and brings 42 years of work experience with two Class 1 railroads – Conrail and Norfolk Southern. His first 32 years were with Maintenance-of-Way, including assignments like Division Engineer in Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Birmingham, where he was responsible for track and bridge inspection, maintenance and development of capital programs. During his last 10 years with NS, he served as the Director of Research & Tests (track geometry testing, derailment investigation, wheel-rail performance research, mechanical and track failure analysis and materials testing). 
Since 2012 he has been an annual presenter at the Wheel-Rail Interface conference.  

Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist

Jack Lindquist


Jack Lindquist has a wealth of practical rail experience, spanning over 40 years. His work with ARM is primarily concerned with all quality issues related to rail profile grinding practices.
As a welder foreman, Jack was responsible for all aspects of project – scheduling, team training, quality control, troubleshooting and problem resolution, and contractor relations. In addition, his extensive background in heavy equipment operation provides the ARM team with a high level of expertise in operational safety of different types of large equipment.
ARM makes extensive use of his skills and experience as Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist. He is responsible for oversight of rail profile grinding operations, as well as implementing new wheel and rail profile maintenance and repair techniques incorporating the use of range vision (laser strobe and camera) optical measurement systems. 

Senior Welding Specialist

Allen Pierson

Allen has been a member of AWS for 45 years and a member of Arema Committee 4 for 40 years. He has Certified AWS railroader welding practices, is an AWS visual weld inspector,and works as  a Level 2 UT operator. For 40 years he worked on 3 railroads Penn Central Conrail Norfolk Southern. Allen is a welder instructor for ARM since 2014.

Senior Rail Maintenance Specialist

Jeff Schweisthal


Before joining ARM, Jeff worked for Loram Maintenance of Way Inc. for 15 years, operating and maintaining rail grinding equipment.  Since joining ARM in 2005, he has managed turnkey rail grinding programs on many transit systems including San Jose (VTA), San Diego (Trolley), Edmonton Transit, Dallas (Trinity Railway Express), Boston (MBTA), SCRRA/Metrolink, BART, and others.  His background in the operations and maintenance of rail grinding equipment enables him to determine the capabilities and assess the performance of various grinding units, and to effectively troubleshoot problems in the field.
He has an extensive knowledge of rail grinding pattern design, pattern application, grinding templates, optimized grinding speeds, and various QA/QC functions that impact grinding efficiency and performance.  He has served as a General Superintendent, Grind Superintendent, Maintenance Lead and Operator of Loram Grinding Machines – in addition to experience with Special Grinder Projects and Grinder Overhauls. 

Manager - Data Services

Sean Regehr

Sean has 10 years of railroad experience. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering and an M.Sc. in Transportation Engineering from the University of Manitoba, and is an active member of AREMA Committee 2.
He joined ARM/Global Rail Group in 2016.

Data Services Specialist

Casslynn Ennis

Casslynn has over 5 years experience in computer-aided engineering and mechanical design/maintenance. She graduated with a diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology in 2022. She joined  Global Rail Group/ARM in February 2021.

Data Services Specialist

Henry Kwees

Henry has 20 years professional experience with proprietary rail recognition software and on-rail specialized data collection. He is responsible for training of  new team members and joined ARM/Global Rail Group in March 2003.

Data Services Specialist

Shane Kweens

Shane has been involved in data collection, data processing and analysis of various data types for the past 20 years with ARM/Global Rail Group.   He uses this information to support railroad maintenance managers and internal grinding staff in  planning corrective and preventive rail maintenance.  He is also experienced in training internal and external clients on proprietary rail profile analysis software.  Shane holds a Diploma in Business Administration and Marketing. 

Field Specialist

Steve Gainey

Steve has over 10 years experience in the rail industry that ranges from rail car mechanic to frog/track welding and repair. Between 2007-2011 he was the Field Specialist and Road Foreman at G.A.T.X. and then at Bankhead/Holland LP (2011-2018) as Frog welding assist/welding foreman.
He joined Global Rail Group in 2021 as the  Field Specialist. 

Field Specialist

George Senterfitt III

George brings over 9 years of experience in the rail industry. He began is career in railway industry at LORAM and worked his way up from a general labourer to crew chief. He studied the task of rail grinding to an extend where he was able to increase the life of the rail by removing the defects while maintaining the shape of the head of the rail.
He is a rail maintenance specialist at Global Rail Group/ARM.

Director Global Rail Media

Detlev Suchanek

Editor

Alexandra Schöner

Marketing/Distribution Lead

Sabine Braun

Director Global Rail Media

Detlev Suchanek

Detlev has more than 40 years of experience. Previously he worked in the publishing industry managing authors and conceptualizing books at Publishing Director at DVV Media Group (Eurailpress | RailwayGazette | Alba ÖPNV | Griephan). A railway enthusiast and collector of railway antiques, Detlev is responsible for specialized knowledge and creation of media material related to transportation, logistics and mobility. He was the founder of the predecessor company of now Global Rail Media in 2017.

Editor

Alexandra Schöner

Alexandra has 15 years of experience as an editor and started in a manga publishing house. She has a  Master of Arts  (M.A.) degree in Japanese and Romance Studies from University of Heidelberg (Germany).
She joined the predecessor company of  Global Rail Group in 2018.

Marketing/Distribution Lead

Sabine Braun

Sabine has over 30 years of experience in the marketing and publishing sector.
She has joined the predecessor company of Global Rail Group in 2017.

Director Academy & Recruitment Services

Karsten Graf

Senior Training Manager

John Schaefer

Senior Trainer

Carsten Baumgart

Senior Content Manager

Martin Murowski

Quality & Training Programs Manager

Christian Greifelt

Hydraulics Trainer

Jürgen Poscher

Trainer

Richard Grewe

Assistant Trainer

Oliver Fabrizius

Assistant Trainer

Nicolas Suszka

Assistant to Training Area

Christina Lyons

Trainee

Nabih Agha

Trainee

Niraj Ghule

Trainee

Priyal Kadu

Trainee

Jessika Röhl

Trainee

Hannah Strippel

Director Academy & Recruitment Services

Karsten Graf

Karsten has 25 years+ experience in the Professional Services industry in Senior Management roles in various areas (IT, Engineering, HR Services).He worked in large global organizations and start-up environment and is passionate about developing new businesses and organizations. Karsten has been with the Global Rail Group since March 2023 and in charge of the Business Lines Academy and Recruiting Services.

Senior Training Manager

John Schaefer

John brings over 35 years of combined experience in the areas of Railroad Technologies, Industrial Maintenance, Instructional. He is retired from the US Army and had worked as an Automotive Manufacturing Engineer for IMS Gear and as a Plasser American Field Service Representative. He currently holds a Master of Project Management and a B.S. in Technical Management and is an active member of AREMA Committee 27. John joined Global Rail Group in 2019.

Senior Trainer

Carsten Baumgart

Carsten brings more than 20 years experience in the rail industry in various roles as  a trainer, front cabin operator, tamping operator, machinist and locomotive driver, out of which, he worked for  6 years as a tamping operator and 15 years as a trainer. He previously worked for companies such as Swietelsky Germany, Krebs Gleisbau GmbH and Leonhard Weiss.
He joined Global Rail Academy in April 2021 as a trainer for front cabin operator, tamper and switch tamper certification with UEEIV.

Senior Content Manager

Martin Murowski

Martin’s first contact with track construction machines was in 2009, when he was working for NEWAG in Oberhausen. After 9 years there and some experience abroad, he switched to Deutsche Plasser as project manager and estimator. Martin joined Global Rail Group in February 2022.

Quality & Training Programs Manager

Christian Greifelt

Christian has 14 years of work experience and  was most recently employed at Plasser Robel Services /Deutsche Plasser in the role of responsible welding supervisor and deputy non-destructive testing (NDT) supervisor.
He is a mechanical engineer (B.Eng.) with further training as a welding engineer (IWE) and has various qualifications in welding and non-destructive testing in the field of rail vehicle maintenance.
He joined Global Rail Group in 2022.

Hydraulics Trainer

Jürgen Poscher

Jürgen is a  state-certified mechanical engineering technician and HWK business economist with more than 30 years of experience in the field of hydraulic drive and control technology, as well as many years as a hydraulics trainer. He joined Global Rail Group in March 2020.

Trainer

Richard Grewe

Richard is a trained nuclear power plant operator. He has been working in the track construction sector as an electrical engineer/service technician since 2007 and has traveled worldwide to service machines. Richard joined Global Rail Group in January 2022.  

Assistant Trainer

Oliver Fabrizius

Oliver has been Assistant Trainer at Global Rail Academy in Leverkusen since March 2022.  Before he started working here, he finished his training as mechatronics engineer at Deutsche Plasser (Plasser Robel Services) and thus has experience in the railway industry since 2018. 

Assistant Trainer

Nicolas Suszka

Work Experience

2022-Present: Assistant trainer at Global Rail Academy
2018-2022: Apprenticeship as mechatronics engineer at Zweiweg

Education

N/A

Languages

German, English

Publications

N/A

Positions

N/A

Memberships

N/A

Awards

N/A

Assistant to Training Area

Christina Lyons

Christina has 7 years of experience as a management assistant in business and banking and 15 years of experience teaching in the U.S. She taught English Education at Austin Peay State University, Tennessee, and at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois. Christina received her PhD in English from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, FTSK Germersheim in 2003, her Master of Arts in Education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL, U.S. in 2007, and her Master of Arts in Translation from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, FTSK Germersheim in 1998.
She joined Global Rail Group in April 2021 as an Assistant to Training Area.

Trainee

Nabih Agha

Nabih is a working student at Global Rail Academy while doing his Master’s in Electrical Engineering at Bergische University of Wuppertal, focussing on coding and automation. He has joined Global Rail Group in March 2023.

Trainee

Niraj Ghule

Niraj is studying M.Sc. in Railway Systems Engineering at RWTH Aachen University and completed his Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. He joined Global Rail Group in October 2022.

Trainee

Priyal Kadu

Priyal is pursuing his Master’s in railway system engineering. He completed his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and has more than 2 years of experience in product development and project management. He joined Global Rail Academy in 2023 as a working student.

Trainee

Jessika Röhl

Jessika is studying Media Design at the International University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, while she works in the field of content creation for Global Rail Academy.
She joined Global Rail Group in October 2022.

Trainee

Hannah Strippel

Hannah brings her Media Technology studies into the field of content and design creation, while gaining practical experience within Global Rail Academy.
She joined Global Rail Group in March 2022.

Director Academy & Recruitment Services

Karsten Graf

Head of Recruitment Services South Eastern Europe

Nemanja Ristic

Trainer

Snježana Nedić

Trainer

Nataša Tatić

Trainee

Igor Lukic

Director Academy & Recruitment Services

Karsten Graf

Karsten has 25 years+ experience in the Professional Services industry in Senior Management roles in various areas (IT, Engineering, HR Services).He worked in large global organizations and start-up environment and is passionate about developing new businesses and organizations. Karsten has been with the Global Rail Group since March 2023 and in charge of the Business Lines Academy and Recruiting Services.

Head of Recruitment Services South Eastern Europe

Nemanja Ristic

Nemanja has over 8 years experience in the rail industry on the German market. He been with Global Rail Group since 2022 as the Head of Recruiting. He graduated with an Engineer´s degree in Traffic Engineering from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering at the University of East of Sarajevo.

Trainer

Snježana Nedić

Snježana has a Bachelor’s degree in Traffic Engineering on Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering in Doboj. She joined Global Rail Group in February 2023.

Trainer

Nataša Tatić

Nataša studied at the Faculty of Technology-Chemical Engineering and  joined Global Rail Group in February 2023. 

Trainee

Igor Lukic

Igor, after completing his degree at the University of Traffic in Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, joined Global Rail Group in February 2023 as a trainee for Technical Services.

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