When Mike Fetsko (Baldwin High School class of ’83) was young, he would look with wide-eyed wonder at the model trains his father would set up, lost in the miniature world they unveiled. Today, Fetsko’s work takes him around the world, tracking the progress of trains. Fetsko recalls, “as a kid, I always loved model trains. My father would put up the annual Christmas display of Lionel trains (I still collect them today).  After working at two different environmental engineering companies after college and getting experience as a project and construction manager, I never thought that someday I would be building train systems all over the world. In 1998, a ‘dumb luck’ opportunity popped up to work at a company in West Mifflin called Adtranz as a project manager.  Little did I know at the time was the global presence that Adtranz had building automated guideway transit systems at airports all over the world. When Bombardier bought Adtranz in 2001, that opened another door for me to oversee global transit projects for our division. I ended up overseeing the design and construction of some massive transit projects in places like South Africa, China, Korea, Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, and numerous airports in the United States. I moved to Wabtec in 2011 and in a few years, I was promoted to Group Executive of Wabtec’s worldwide freight group. In 2017, I was named President of the Freight Group. Later that year, the Industrial Group business units were added to my responsibility.”

Fetsko, who holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Environmental Sciences from The University of Virginia and a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, serves as the President of Freight & Industrial Components for Wabtec Corporation. “Wabtec is a global corporation operating in 50 countries with 27,000 employees.  Our corporate headquarters are in Pittsburgh.  Our foundation and history were built from three industrial giants: George Westinghouse, Thomas Edison, and Louis Faiveley,” explains Fetsko. He is continually seeking to improve the work Wabtec is doing. “My business portfolio comprises 31 business units at 44 sites across the globe, with a diverse freight rail and industrial product portfolio. In the office, a typical day is filled with meetings and interactions to drive operational performance, monthly financials, strategy, and most important, growth of our talented team. On the road traveling, those days focus on customer visits and visits to our plants to gauge customer satisfaction and performance, with a theme of how we can continually improve. At our sites, it is a time for me to really thank the teams for what they do — day in and day out — to make Wabtec the most valuable rail technology company in the world. Throughout my career, I have traveled to over 30 countries. Today’s travels are weighted more toward North America, but I still get to places like India, Australia, and various European countries in a given year,” he notes.

In his role, Fetsko is able to unravel challenging issues with a top-notch team. He shares, “I most enjoy three things about what I do: first, working with diverse groups of people from all over the world helps me appreciate cultures and diversity; second, I enjoy helping our customers solve complex problems by using our products; and third, I most enjoy helping our talented people grow their careers.” Being a collaborative member of a team is a skill Fetsko developed as a Fighting Highlander. “Sports was a way of life for me at BHS and playing on teams translated well into the business world as everything is done with teams of people. A lot of success is driven from how well you can work with people, as we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Those interactions help to build leaders. My BWSD experience prepared me well for challenges I have faced in my career,” he shares.

As students build for their own futures, Fetsko encourages current BHS students to integrate five priorities. He reflects, “If you truly want to make an impact in whatever you’re doing, I encourage you to focus on 5 things.

• 1st:  It all starts with your ATTITUDE!  That is a choice that you get to make every single day!
• 2nd:  Recognize and seize opportunities, and remember, the best opportunities do not always lead to a fancy title or a higher paycheck.
• 3rd:  If you first find ways to add value to the team, then the benefits will come back you as an individual.  But if you always look after yourself first, and the team second, you will get lost.  Stay away from arrogance and ignorance!
• 4th:  The power of a team is incredible and drives resilience.  Teams can do great things together!  Embrace it and believe in it!
• 5th:  Your personal value set will ultimately determine your career path.  Without values, you will get lost!  With them, values will translate into opportunities for you and for your teams.  They will make you resilient when times get tough!  Develop them, live by them, and remember — no matter the situation, never compromise them!”