Austin Staton About Austin
Austin Staton is a corporate communications leader with more than 15 years of experience across transportation and energy, specializing in media relations, crisis and issues management, corporate reputation, executive media counsel, and public affairs.
He currently serves as Director of Media Relations at CSX, where he leads media relations and crisis communications, provides media counsel to the CEO and senior leaders, develops external messaging and earnings materials, and serves as the company’s lead public information officer during major incidents.
Throughout his career, Austin has led communications supporting more than $5.5 billion in transportation and energy infrastructure investments. At CSX, his work includes communications for more than $1 billion in rail infrastructure investments, including the Howard Street Tunnel and Blue Ridge rebuild, as well as major labor agreements and strategic public-affairs initiatives such as Staying on Track.
Before joining CSX, Austin led U.S. external communications at TC Energy during a period of heightened regulatory, operational, investor, and public scrutiny. He directed communications for a $4.5 billion offshore natural gas pipeline joint venture in Mexico and served as the on-site spokesperson during the Keystone Milepost 14 oil spill response. Earlier, at Pierpont Communications, he advised corporate, private equity-backed, and publicly traded clients on media relations, crisis communications, executive positioning, and capital-markets activity.
Austin spent nearly a decade at bp in progressively senior communications roles spanning employee communications, media affairs, crisis response, and digital and multimedia strategy. His experience included serving on the Gulf of Mexico Public Information Officer rotation, leading bp’s initial U.S. communications response to COVID-19, directing executive media training, and completing a secondment in Muscat, Oman, as communications lead for bp’s Middle East operations. He also led media outreach and partner engagement in Rio during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Beyond his corporate work, Austin serves as a Trustee at WJCT Public Media, providing governance and strategic counsel for public media in Northeast Florida. He previously served as President of IABC Houston, which was named IABC’s 2020 International Chapter of the Year during his tenure. He has also created and hosted communications-focused podcasts designed to encourage professional development, idea-sharing, and connection across the profession.
Austin is a native of The Woodlands, Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Baylor University and a Certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School Online.
To contact Austin, click here.
Austin Staton 