CN announces new board directors

CN yesterday announced its board election results, including the unanimous reelection of Robert Pace as chair.

Pace is president and chief executive officer of The Pace Group Ltd., based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The company is engaged in radio broadcasting, real estate and environmental services.

The election, held this week during CN’s annual shareholders meeting, resulted in two new directors: Denise Gray, president of LG Energy Solution Michigan Inc. Tech Center, and Justin Howell, senior investment manager at BMGI, which manages the assets of Cascade Investment LLC.

Also elected to CN’s board for the first time is accountant Margaret McKenzie, who was appointed to the board in October 2020.

With the election of Gray and McKenzie, CN met its goal of gender parity on the board a year earlier than the company had planned. The gender parity objective is part of the Class I’s environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) goals, which also include an update to board governance policies. Those changes also called for reducing the board’s size to 10 independent directors plus the chief executive officer.

Gray and Howell are joining CN's board at a “very dynamic and exciting time in our corporate journey,” Pace said in a press release.

"In keeping with CN’s ongoing commitment to ESG leadership, they will contribute valuable perspectives that will enhance CN's positioning for continued long-term success with a greater focus on diversity and inclusion, and sustainability," he said.

Reelected as CN directors were Shauneen Bruder, Julie Godin, Kevin Lynch, James O’Connor, Robert Phillips, Laura Stein, and CN President and CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest.