Former Norfolk Southern vice-chairman Stephen Tobias - Date/Photographer unknown.

2 April 2012

Pershing Adds to CP Proxy Fight Slate

New York New York USA - Hedge fund Pershing Square, which is making a push for the replacement of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.'s chief executive, has added another railway veteran to a slate of potential board members it will be nominating at the company's annual meeting next month.
 
New York-based Pershing Square said Monday that former Norfolk Southern vice-chairman Stephen Tobias will become its seventh nominee to vie for a seat on the railway's board.
 
Pershing Square, which has been locked in a bitter war of words with the top brass of Canada's second-largest railway for months, holds a 14.2 percent interest in Canadian Pacific. The hedge fund and other investors have long been frustrated with CP's share price performance versus its peers.
 
Among its top goals is the replacement of current chief executive Fred Green with Hunter Harrison, former CEO of rival Canadian National Railway Co.
 
"My nearly 40 years of railroad operations experience enable me to make a real contribution to this project," Tobias said in a statement.
 
"I am excited about this opportunity to help unlock the enormous potential of a railroad as historic and iconic as the Canadian Pacific Railway."
 
Tobias worked for U.S.-based Norfolk Southern for 40 years, most recently as chief operating officer and vice-chairman. Pershing Square's nominees, now include Bill Ackman chief executive of the hedge fund, Gary Colter, Paul Haggis, Paul Hilal, Rebecca MacDonald, Anthony Melman, and Tobias.
 
Tobias was quick to add his endorsement for the instalment of Harrison as CEO.