National passenger railroad Amtrak appointed Steve Predmore as its executive vice president and chief safety officer starting on November 4.

Predmore –  responsible for safety planning, training and performance across the Amtrak national network – replaces Ken Hylander, who will return to retirement on November 15. Predmore will report directly to Stephen Gardner, Amtrak’s senior executive vice president and chief operating and commercial officer.

“We are pleased to welcome Steve to Amtrak as a recognized leader in the implementation and operation of Safety Management Systems,” Gardner noted in a statement. “He has a deep understanding of system safety, human factors and human performance that will help us build and sustain a high-performing safety culture.”

Predmore brings nearly 30 years of safety experience to Amtrak from time spent in a number of “high-risk” industries, including aviation, oil and gas, and contracted passenger services. Predmore most recently spent five years as vice president and chief safety officer of the Bristow Group, a global provider of rotary and fixed wing aviation services for offshore transportation and search and rescue.

He also served for a year as senior vice president of safety for MV Transportation – a private U.S.-based provider of contracted passenger services, including paratransit/demand response, fixed-route municipal transit, corporate/airline shuttles, and school bus operations; and 11 years as vice president and chief safety officer for JetBlue Airways.

Predmore holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Drake University and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Texas-Austin.