Skip to main content

Kathryn McQuade, who is retiring as Canadian Pacific’s CFO

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. said on Thursday that its chief financial officer, Kathryn McQuade, will retire on Nov. 1, the fourth senior executive to leave Canada's second-largest railroad after a bruising proxy battle earlier this year.

CP said Brian Grassby, the company's senior vice-president of finance, would replace her as CFO from that date.

Ms. McQuade will remain as a senior advisor to Mr. Grassby until the end of her contract in May, 2013.

CP could not be reached immediately for comment.

The announcement of Ms. McQuade's retirement came 10 days after CP said its chief operations officer, Mike Franczak, had resigned.

Their exits follow the resignations in May of CP chief executive officer Fred Green and chairman John Cleghorn who left after company management lost a proxy battle to activist shareholder William Ackman and his company, Pershing Square Capital Management.

Mr. Ackman's choice for CEO, Hunter Harrison, the former CEO of CP rival Canadian National Railway Co., has since been appointed to the top post at CP.

Interact with The Globe