Railinc’s Manager of Customer Success Clay Congleton has been recognized as a 2024 Rising Star by Progressive Railroading magazine.

The award recognizes individuals under the age of 40 who have made, or are making, a positive impact on their company, organization, department or team, and are viewed by others — peers, colleagues, supervisors, clients or associates — as up-and-coming leaders in the rail industry.

The Customer Success Center (CSC) is the launching pad for more than 20% of Railinc’s employees, and as the leader for the CSC, Congleton is an integral part of the hiring and training process for many of the company’s team members. In addition to this role, Congleton assists with infrastructure improvements and introducing new application features.

From serving thousands of customers in North America, to implementing improvements to critical rail applications, to hiring and mentoring team members who will succeed within Railinc and in the rail industry, Congleton has been an invaluable resource to freight rail. A short list of her initiatives and accomplishments include:

  • Overseeing the Letter of Authorization (LOA) process and improvements to the data security of the application
  • Converting Railinc code into Python during a two-year migration effort in which Railinc applications were moved to a cloud environment
  • Creating new documentation for internal processes and training plans that outline a path to success in the rail industry

Congleton, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and philosophy from UNC Chapel Hill, joined Railinc in 2019 as a customer success specialist. She has shown rapid growth, moving into a team lead role and the management position with the CSC in a short time.

Congleton and the other 2024 Progressive Railroading Rising Stars will be recognized in a virtual celebration on July 24. Click here to see a complete list of winners.