The new number two of the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) will be domiciled in the United States even if its predecessor carried out the same work from the head office in Montreal. It’s not the first time a top executive has gone south of the border, where the railroad generated a quarter of its profits last year.
Edmond Harris, who replaces Rob Reilly as senior vice president and chief operating officer, will be based in Homewood, Ill., confirmed to The Press the country’s largest railroad on Tuesday. This detail was not mentioned in the press release announcing the arrival of the four-decade veteran of the rail industry – who has worked at CN in the past before stepping down in 2007.
The reasons surrounding the departure of Mr. Reilly, an American, were not explained, but he has already left the company. Appointed in 2019, the latter had moved to the Montreal region. He was entitled to a total compensation of 4.5 million last year.
“I hope it’s temporary,” says François Dauphin, director general of the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations (IGOPP), about the CN recruit. A chief operating officer is the key person in the day-to-day operations of a railroad. I hope he will travel frequently to meet his team here. »
In a statement, CN would not comment on the circumstances of Mr. Reilly’s departure. The railway claims that the “heart and soul” of the company “lies in Montreal”.
“Ed will have offices in Howewood and Edmonton, where some of the operations management is located, and in Montreal, where the head office and key members of the management team are located,” it was explained. .
another transfer
Without much fanfare, another senior CN executive moved to the United States last June. It’s Rance Randle, senior vice president, mechanical and engineering. He previously worked in Edmonton, Alberta.
Including Mr. Harris, 30% of CN’s senior leadership – made up of nine executives who report directly to President and CEO Tracy Robinson and other senior vice presidents across the company – live outside Quebec.
This is the kind of thing I see more and more. We are in a market where executives are in a strong position. If we want to attract talent, the board of directors must sometimes make concessions.
Richard Leblanc, governance, law and ethics specialist at York University in Toronto
On this question, Mr. Dauphin agrees with his colleague, with one caveat.
“It’s a very good candidate. [M. Harris], but I find it a pity that we did not dip into the internal sector, adds the director general of the Institute for the governance of private and public organizations (IGOPP). I don’t feel like that was a concern. »
This is not the first time that the metropolis has noticed a shift in activities. In February 2020, CN confirmed the transfer of around 100 employees to Edmonton after deciding to concentrate rail control of its network there.
In addition, the company is trying to reduce the physical footprint of its head office. The Press reported last September that CN had sublet 13,185 square meters (142,000 square feet) at 935 De La Gauchetière Street West. Last April, the railway was embroiled in a fierce linguistic controversy when The Press revealed that Francophones had been excluded from the table of the board of directors. The company corrected the situation last September.
Mme Robinson and his new number two rubbed shoulders at Canadian Pacific (CP) a decade ago. Mme Robinson handled marketing and sales while Mr. Harris was chief operating officer. He had been acting as a consultant to CN since last spring.
With Andre Dubuc, The Press
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- 31%
- In 2021, CN generated just under a third of its total revenue of $14.5 billion in the United States.
source: CANADIAN NATIONAL