A first woman moved to the helm of the Canadian National Railway Company (CN), which also settled a dispute that had been escalating for several months with its second shareholder. Tracy Robinson makes French a “personal priority”, even if the language is not foreign to her.
Posted yesterday at 4:48 p.m.
Based in Montreal, the largest railroad in the country also appointed on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the publication of its fourth quarter results, the former Quebec premier Jean Charest as independent director and Shauneen Bruder as vice-chairman of the board. .
With a long track record in the energy and rail sector, Mme Robinson, who has been a senior executive at TC Energy since 2014, will take office on Feb. 28. She will replace the current president and CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest, 67 years old and perfectly bilingual. Mme Robinson spent 27 years with Canadian Pacific (CP) – CN’s rival – where she rose through the ranks to senior management.
“It’s an excellent choice,” explained to The Press John Gradek, a lecturer at McGill University, who worked with Mme Robinson at CP from 1994 to 2000. “She was doing well in French. They (the CN) could have chosen an American who knows nothing of French. At least Tracy knows Quebec. »
At CP, Mme Robinson had settled in Montreal to work there between 1994 and 1996 before returning to Calgary. Also employed by the Alberta Railway, Mr. Gradek was a colleague of CN’s new president for several years.
CN did not specify on Tuesday the level of knowledge of French of its new leader. Mme Robinson has “already started taking French lessons.”
PHOTO FROM TC ENERGY WEBSITE
Tracy Robinson will be president and CEO of CN
“I also want to emphasize that I respect and appreciate CN’s rich history in Montreal and Quebec, where the common and official language is French,” she said in a statement.
Mme Robinson was unavailable for interviews Tuesday.
This change of custody at CN, subject to the Official Languages Act, comes at a time when French proficiency among business leaders has come to the fore since the language storm unleashed by Air Canada President and CEO Michael Rousseau last November.
“There was an elephant in the room,” said Marie-Soleil Tremblay, professor at the National School of Public Administration. “There would have been criticism if this particularity had not been addressed. »
Mme Tremblay, who specializes in governance issues, among other things, believes that CN has demonstrated a form of “sensitivity” on the language issue while having recruited the person who, according to the company, was the most competent.
End of a showdown
The announced changes also allow the railroad to turn the page on its dispute with TCI Fund Management, which owns a stake in the company.
The London fund, which has a militant reputation and is also CP’s largest shareholder, is ending its attacks on CN. He no longer calls for an extraordinary meeting of shareholders in March in order to install his own candidates for the board of directors.
TCI wanted to see Jim Vena, a veteran of the railway industry and ex-CN executive, return to the fold and replace Mr. Ruest. This scenario ultimately did not materialize when the principal concerned decided to withdraw, without explaining why, last month.
The London fund supported the appointment of Mme Robinson as well as two new directors. Mr. Ruest, who is due to retire on March 31, is currently the only member of the board of directors to be from Quebec.
It was in the spring that TCI began to criticize CN for its attempted takeover of Kansas City Southern (KCS), also coveted by CP. After saying yes to CN, the American company had opted for the offer to purchase the Alberta company last September.
In the view of the British fund, rather than embarking on an expensive acquisition project, CN should have focused on improving the efficiency of its operations.
Mme Robinson inherits this mandate.
“With her experience at CP, she knows the strengths and weaknesses of the railway companies,” said Mr. Gradek. There will be no learning period and break-in period. She knows the industry very well. »
Last September, Mr. Ruest presented a strategic plan which has already resulted in the dismissal of 1,150 people in order to reduce expenses. Assets deemed non-essential, such as Great Lakes cargo ship services and the TransX trucking business, are at risk of being sold. It’s M.me Robinson and his team who will have to decide.
By the end of the year, CN’s new president is expected to have reduced the operating ratio – a measure of efficiency that expresses expenses as a percentage of revenues – to 57%. As of December 31, this ratio was 61.2%.
Presumably, the rationalization efforts therefore do not seem to be finished.
CN ended the year on a high note, posting an increase in profits of about 18% in the fourth quarter. Its income was notably boosted by an increase in fuel prices despite a less bountiful grain harvest and the floods in British Columbia which temporarily disrupted rail traffic. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, net income was $1.2 billion, or $1.69 per share. Revenues rose 3% to $3.8 billion.
