Shares of Canadian National Railway Co. (CN Rail) dropped 5% after the company said that Jim Vena, a leading candidate to run the railroad, has dropped out of consideration to replace outgoing chief executive officer (CEO) Jean-Jacques Ruest.
Vena, a former CN Rail chief operating officer, told the board over the weekend that he’s no longer interested in becoming CEO, the railroad said in a statement Monday. The company said it expects to announce a new leader by the end of January.
CN Rail’s stock fell 4.91% to $156.06 a share in Toronto trading on news of the CEO situation, the biggest intraday decline since April 20. The stock had climbed 17% this year through December 17, while the S&P/TSX index has advanced 19%.
The withdrawal of Jim Vena is a blow to TCI Fund Management, the railroad’s second-largest shareholder, after the investment firm, run by billionaire Chris Hohn, launched a campaign to remake the board and install Vena following the company’s failed attempt to acquire Kansas City Southern railway.
Ruest said in October that he would step down in January, a surprise announcement less than four years after he took the top job at CN Rail. Canadian Pacific Railway Co. ultimately won the contest to acquire Kansas City Southern.
Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management LP, which also has a sizable stake in CN Rail, had expressed support for Vena as well.
CN Rail said it “has identified and continues to interview a number of outstanding candidates” in its CEO search.
