To Our Shareholders:
On
behalf of our Board of Directors, I am pleased to invite you to attend the 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 9, 2019. The meeting will be held at the Benson Hotel located in Portland, Oregon. The annual
meeting will include an update on our business operations and a discussion of other important matters. We hope you can attend and look forward to seeing you there.
Our values and culture are the foundation for our strong performance and transformative growth over the last five years
When we were a much smaller enterprise, I defined the core values to guide Greenbrier, including quality, integrity, respect for people, safety and customer commitment.
As we have grown we strive to maintain these values that have long defined us. We believe an enduring commitment to these values is essential to Greenbriers long-term growth. Success in a manufacturing environment cannot be sustained without
daily focus on keeping our employees safe and healthy. Serving our customers by designing and delivering high-quality products and services is another manifestation of our values.
Our Board is actively engaged in Greenbriers strategic direction
At Greenbrier, strong corporate governance is foundational to our success. A highly engaged Board of Directors helps Greenbrier test our understanding of our markets and
industry trends. The Board meets annually to review the Companys strategic plan. This year, the Board traveled to several of our worldwide locations to deepen their understanding of our customers, markets, and the cultures where we operate.
Active engagement by the Board enables Greenbrier to refine our strategic direction to optimize long-term growth while maximizing current opportunities.
Our growth continues to be guided by diversity of thought, expression and background
Diversity helps business, society and individuals
meet our highest potential. Greenbrier maintains a culture of diversity and works with others who share this commitment. Greenbriers company-wide talent development initiative emphasizes the importance of workplace diversity. Diversity is not
limited to people. While maintaining focus on our key North American market, we continue to pursue new opportunities in geographically and culturally diverse markets around the world. Our growing worldwide footprint and international operations
requires heightened cultural awareness from our Board and management team. International diversity allows us to better serve our customers and shareholders in many ways: supplementing our product offerings, accessing new markets and introducing new
ideas and viewpoints.
We are committed to continuing engagement with our stakeholders
Greenbriers pursuit of growth and innovation is the result of committed focus on what has guided our success until now. This includes unwavering dedication to our
customers, shareholders, employees and communities. We regularly engage with customers, attend investor conferences, hold quarterly employee meetings, take an active leadership role in industry associations and contribute our time and resources to
community improvement efforts. Greenbrier maintains a commitment to meaningful interactions with our stakeholders. Over time we have emerged as one of the most trusted and respected firms in the freight rail transportation industry. This respect has
made us the second-largest freight railcar builder in North America and the largest in South America and Europe. We work to earn this respect and be worthy of it, each day of the year.
Your vote is important
Whether or not you can
attend the annual meeting in person, and no matter how many shares you own, please vote your shares as soon as possible. Your vote is very important. You may vote via the internet, by mail or by telephone following the instructions provided in the
proxy statement.
On behalf of our Board of Directors and the entire Greenbrier team, we thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
William A. Furman
Chairman, Chief Executive
Officer and President
November 2018