Activist blames CN board as preferred CEO candidate bows out
BNN Bloomberg
An activist shareholder of Canadian National Railway Co. has blamed the company's board of directors for failing to secure its preferred candidate for a new chief executive of the railway.
MONTREAL - An activist shareholder of Canadian National Railway Co. has blamed the company's board of directors for failing to secure its preferred candidate for a new chief executive of the railway.
CN announced on Monday that Jim Vena had told the company he was no longer interested in the position, which is opening up as current CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest is set to retire at the end of January.
TCI Fund Management Ltd., which has been a vocal critic of the board throughout CN's attempt to take over a U.S. railway this year, had wanted Vena to take on the role as part of a wider overhaul of management of the railway.
The fund said in a statement that the board failed to sign Vena because it is ``conflicted,'' making the selection process ``flawed and unreliable.''
TCI says that the appointment of a new CEO should be delayed until after a special shareholder meeting set for March, where it hopes its four nominees for the board will be elected.
CN said Monday it expects to announce a new chief executive in January.
