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30 November 2006

CPR's Green Shifts Executive Ranks

Calgary Alberta - Fred Green is putting his stamp on Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., dropping four executives from management's inner circle and forming new teams as the company seeks to become leaner.
 
Mr. Green, appointed CPR's chief executive officer six months ago, wants to improve the railway's performance as it copes with limited tracks in the United States.
 
"To build even greater strength, we must draw from the full range of talent available to us," Mr. Green said in an internal memo to staff.
 
Dropped from the railway's management committee are:  Paul Clark, vice-president of communications and public affairs; Brian Grassby, vice-president and comptroller; Tracy Robinson, vice-president and treasurer; and Don Barnhardt, corporate secretary.
 
But four executives have joined the 11-person committee led by Mr. Green:  Jane O'Hagan, vice-president of strategy and external affairs; Brock Winter, senior vice-president of operations; Jonathan Legg, vice-president of strategic sourcing; and Donald Campbell, vice-president of corporate planning.
 
Mr. Green issued his memo as Calgary-based CPR seeks growth prospects. Its tracks in the United States are limited to portions of the Midwest and Northeast.
 
By contrast, Montreal-based Canadian National Railway Co. runs a continental rail network that extends to the Gulf of Mexico.
 
Mr. Green is determined to expand CPR to take advantage of bustling Asian trade, and analysts said yesterday that he could do so by either buying smaller U.S. lines or signing co-operation pacts to share tracks with rivals, perhaps with Union Pacific Corp. of Omaha.
 
In his memo, Mr. Green said he is creating two new groups:  The "human resources committee" to oversee employee relations and the "strategic issues forum" to generate "new ideas from all ranks and job functions, to generate growth and company development."
 
To help decentralize decision-making powers, "the new committees will have the authority and the responsibility to ensure we maximize our potential in all areas," said Mr. Green, who joined CPR in 1978. He took over as CEO in May, when Robert Ritchie retired after 11 years in the top job.
 
An "operating committee" has been revamped to take on greater importance. Michael Lambert, CPR's new chief financial offer and former president at retailer Mark's Work Wearhouse Ltd., is among the eight members of the operating committee, which includes Mr. Grassby and Ms. Robinson. Mr. Lambert is also on the management committee.
 
Randy Cousins, an analyst with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., said Mr. Green recognizes that CPR runs a good route to the U.S. Midwest from Western Canada, but there are limitations.
 
"Fred Green wants to leave his mark," Mr. Cousins said. "The challenge is that CPR's tracks effectively stop around Chicago."
 
Business has surged at both CPR and CN over the past three years, spurred by an Asian trade bonanza, said veteran transportation consultant Greg Gormick.
 
Yesterday, CN said its capital spending budget in 2007 will rise 4 percent to $1.6-billion, including work to handle traffic at a container terminal being built at the Port of Prince Rupert in northern B.C.
 
 
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