It is a scene of Canada shortly after her birth: the driving of the last spike into the Canadian Pacific Railway on that November day in 1885, at Craigellachie, British Columbia. The line would link the westernmost province to the rest of Canada, and help the embryo dominion live out her creed, From Sea to Sea.
The C.P. has been a dominant force in the economic history of Canada, too, instrumental in moving goods and people to and fro over the last 127 years, and the fortunes of Canadian Pacific (T.CP) have often mirrored those of the rest of the economy.
Lately, though, there’s been some commotion within the locomotive room of Canadian Pacific, with folks assuming and leaving the helm of the company with a bit too much regularity in recent months. The most recent example was provided this week with a shuffle at the top which brought Brian Grassby to the post of Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, replacing the retiring Kathryn McQuade in the latter role. Grassby will take over on November 1 and McQuade will remain as his senior advisor until May of next year.
McQuade is the second top executive to step down in 10 days at CP. The company’s chief operating officer, Mike Franczak, resigned earlier this month.
According to the Ottawa Citizen, "the departure of the two executives comes amidst dramatic change at the railway that resulted from a messy proxy battle earlier this (Hunter) Harrison replace Fred Green as chief executive."
The company will be out with its third-quarter financial results on October 24. In its last reporting period, results of which were released in July, reported net income was $103 million, down $25 million from the prior-year quarter, on total revenues of $1.4 billion, an increase of $101 million. A nine-day strike cut into those figures earlier this year.
The announcement of the latest shuffle appears to have perked CP’s stock price by 49 cents to $86.90 a share, just off its 52-week high of $87.34, achieved on the Tuesday after the long Thanksgiving weekend. The stock’s gully was hit in mid-October of last year, at $53.10. Volume on Friday, Oct. 12 topped 311,000 shares.
CP, according to its website, operates a North American transcontinental railway providing freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Incorporating best-in-class technology and environmental practices, CP is re-defining itself as a modern 21st-century transportation company built on safety, service reliability and operational efficiency.
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