Jul 20, 2016
CP Rail CEO Hunter Harrison’s hits and misses
Almost exactly five years from when activist investor Bill Ackman installed him as CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway, Hunter Harrison will be stepping down. Keith Creel, the veteran railroader’s longtime protégé and current chief operating officer at CP, will officially pick up the reins on July 1, 2017. Below, BNN takes a look at some of the most noteworthy successes and failures of Harrison’s time at the helm of Canada’s second-largest railroad.
| HITS | MISSES |
|---|---|
| Slashed costs (in part by cutting more than 6,000 positions from a total headcount of 19,500) | 2014 bid for CSX |
| Lowered operating ratio – a key measure of efficiency – from as high as 82 per cent to a record low of 58.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 | 2015 bid for Norfolk Southern (eventually dropped in 2016) |
| Raised adjusted earnings per share by 221 per cent over four years from Q1 2012 to Q1 2016 | |
| CP Rail’s stock rose as much as 224 per cent from June 29th 2012 to its March 3rd 2015 peak |
