Luisa Fernandez-Willey
Principal Economist, Canadian National Railway
Luisa Fernandez-Willey is the Principal Economist at Canadian National Railway (CN), where she leads economic research and analysis focused on the North American transportation market. Her work provides key insights that support CN’s strategic decision making across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Prior to joining CN, Luisa was the Assistant Vice President in the Policy & Economics Department at the Association of American Railroads (AAR). There, she played a pivotal role in shaping regulatory discussions and building strategic partnerships within the rail industry. Notably, she led successful negotiations with the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT), the regulatory body for Mexican railroads, and spearheaded the design and implementation of Orrin, a data platform that centralizes data visualizations and downloads.
Earlier in her career, Luisa provided financial management consulting to privatesector clients and conducted economic research for the Maryland state government. She also served as a university lecturer and published scholarly research in a peer-reviewed international academic journal.
Luisa holds an M.Sc. in Business and Economic Forecasting from Kingston University-London and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She has also completed Michigan State University’s Railway Management Certification Program. Luisa is a member of the National Association of Business Economics and the National Business Economics Issues Council.