Hunter Harrison named new CEO of CP Rail
Posted June 29, 2012 7:21 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY, Alta. – Hunter Harrison was named the new CEO and president of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., Friday, the result of reforms pushed through by the company’s largest shareholder.
His appointment was widely expected after a high-profile battle waged against the Calgary-based railway’s former leadership by William Ackman, head of a New York-based investment fund.
Harrison is the former CEO of Canadian National Railway.
He is credited with turning CN into North America’s most successful railway company — a track record that Ackman said is needed at Canadian Pacific.
Ackman’s Pershing Square became the largest shareholder of Canadian Pacific in 2011, beginning months of battles that resulted in the departure of the railway’s chief executive Fred Green, its chairman, John Cleghorn, and several directors, in mid-May, 2012.
