Claude Mongeau

Last updated

Claude Mongeau is a Canadian railroad executive who served as the president and chief executive officer of Canadian National Railway (CNR) from January 1, 2010, to July 1, 2016. [1] He succeeded Hunter Harrison. During his tenure as president of CN, he "tried to improve ... frayed relations with the railway's customers and partners through a series of service agreements." [2]

Contents

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Mongeau began his railroad career when he joined CN in 1994. He held the positions of vice-president of strategic and financial planning, and assistant vice-president of corporate development. He was appointed executive vice-president and chief financial officer in October 2000.

Before joining CN, Mongeau was a partner with Groupe Secor, a Montreal-based management consulting firm providing strategic advice to large Canadian corporations such as Bombardier and Bell Canada. He also worked in the business development unit of Imasco Inc., a diversified holding company with subsidiaries operating in the manufacturing, retail, and financial services sectors. His career started in Europe with Bain & Company, a leading American consulting firm. [3]

In 1997, Mongeau was named one of Canada's top 40 executives under 40 years of age by the Financial Post Magazine. In 2005, he was selected Canada's CFO of the Year by an independent committee of prominent Canadian business leaders. [4]

On April 26 2017 CN announced that the training centre would be named after Mongeau. [5]

Canadian National Railway

Claude Mongeau was president and CEO of Canadian National Railway from 2010 to 2016, previously serving as CFO for almost a decade. He rose through the ranks during the years that CN moved from "the worst railroad to the very best," he told shareholders. [6] When he started, he spent several months on the tracks wearing safety gear, working as a "Railroader in Training" to get a look at his tracks and facilities. The company's chairman David McLean said of it, "It gives you some idea of what kind of a guy he is." [6]

In his role, he was credited for implementing a customer-centric based PSR (precision schedule railroading) approach. [7]

Mongeau's appointment to CEO led to the resignation of several top executives. [8] After serving as CEO for four years, in 2014 the company's mainline derailments increased by 73%, described by The Globe and Mail as a "deterioration" of the company's safety record. As a consequence, Mongeau's bonus was capped. [9]

During his overall tenure, operating ratio declined from 63.6% to 55.9%. [9]

He stepped down in 2016 due to throat cancer. Chief Financial Officer Luc Jobin replaced him. [10]

SNC-Lavalin

Mongeau was a member of the board and audit commitee of SNC-Lavalin while he was working full-time as the CEO of Canadian National. [11] While he was on the board at SNC-Lavlin, the company was caught paying bribes to government officials in Libya, amounting to $48 million over a decade. [12]

While on the audit committee, Mongeau helped oversee an investigation into the scandal, leading to the resignation of the CEO and the company being charged with fraud and corruption. [13] During the audit committee investigation, the Financial Post wrote a story critical of full-time CEOs serving on the boards of directors of other companies, calling out Mongeau by name. [11]

Accomplishments

Directorships:

Education:

Professional experience:

Awards:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald J. Carty</span> Canadian-American businessman

Donald J. Carty, is a Canadian-American businessman who is chairman of Porter Airlines. Carty also is a director of VMWare, Hawaiian Airlines and Betterez. He was previously chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, from 1998 to 2003. He is the past Chairman of Virgin America and E-Rewards, Inc.. Carty is also a past director of Dell, CN Rail, Sears, Placer Dome, Barrick Gold, CHC Helicopters, Brinker International, Talisman Energy, EMC Corporation, and Gluskin Sheff. In January 2007, Carty became the vice chairman and chief financial officer of Dell. On June 13, 2008, Carty retired from day-to-day operations, but stayed on as a director. He is a past chairman of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a former member of the board of trustees of both Southern Methodist University and Queen's University and of the board of directors of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation and the Dallas Theater Center. He is on the executive board of the SMU Cox School of Business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian National Railway</span> Canadian Class I freight railway company

The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk Southern Railway</span> American railway company

The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The company operates 19,420 route miles (31,250 km) in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia, and has rights in Canada over the Albany to Montreal route of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Norfolk Southern Railway is the leading subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Southern (company)</span> American railroad holding company

Kansas City Southern (KCS) was a transportation holding company with railroad investments in the United States, Mexico, and Panama and operated from 1887 to 2023. The KCS rail network included about 7,299 miles (11,747 km) of track in the U.S. and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit</span> British rail industry consultancy company

SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit is an international rail consultancy company. Headquartered in Derby, England, it is a subsidiary of AtkinsRéalis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CSX Corporation</span> American transportation company

CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. The various railroads of the former Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries that are now owned by CSX Corporation were eventually merged into a single line in 1986 and it became known as CSX Transportation. CSX Corporation currently has a number of subsidiaries beyond CSX Transportation. Previously based in Richmond, Virginia after the merger, the corporation moved its headquarters to Jacksonville, Florida, in 2003. CSX is a Fortune 500 company.

Paul Mathias Tellier, is a Canadian businessman and former public servant and lawyer.

Guy Saint-Pierre, was a Canadian entrepreneur, business executive, politician and philanthropist. He is best known for having orchestrated the merger of SNC and Lavalin to create SNC Lavalin, the largest engineering firm in Canada and one of the largest in the world, in 1991. He also became the Chairman of the Board of the Royal Bank of Canada in 2001, being the first French Canadian to hold the position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawker Siddeley Canada</span> Manufacturing company

Hawker Siddeley Canada was the Canadian unit of the Hawker Siddeley Group of the United Kingdom and manufactured railcars, subway cars, streetcars, aircraft engines and ships from the 1960s to 1980s.

John Edward Cleghorn is a Canadian business executive and a former university leader. Cleghorn served as chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada from 1994 until 2001. He is also a former chairman of the board of Canadian Pacific Railway.

The School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) at University of Waterloo is a professional school within the Faculty of Arts. The School was established in 1980 under the name 'School of Accountancy'. Its name was changed in 2008 to better reflect its program offering. Today, more than 1,600 students are enrolled in the School's programs. In September 2009, a new 52,000 square feet (5,000 m2) building was officially opened to house the School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Hunter Harrison</span> American railway executive (1944-2017)

Ewing Hunter Harrison was a railway executive who served as the CEO of Illinois Central Railroad (IC), Canadian National Railway (CN), Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), and CSX Corporation. He is known for introducing precision scheduled railroading to the companies he ran. He died on December 16, 2017, two days after taking medical leave from CSX.

Jacques Lamarre, OC is a Canadian businessman and civil engineer. He became the CEO of SNC-Lavalin, one of the largest engineering corporations in the world, in 1996 and left his post in 2009. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Arts and Science in civil engineering from Université Laval in Quebec City. He also attended Harvard University's Executive Development Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathleen Weil</span> Canadian politician and lawyer

Kathleen Weil is a Canadian politician and lawyer. Weil was elected to represent the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2008 provincial election. She is a member of the Quebec Liberal Party and a former provincial cabinet minister.

Lavalin was a Canadian civil engineering and construction firm based in Montreal, Quebec. After a major expansion program in the 1980s that led to financial difficulties, in 1991 Lavalin merged with its long-time competitor, Surveyer, Nenniger & Chenevert Consulting Engineers (SNC), to become today's SNC-Lavalin, forming one of the ten largest engineering firms in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Heller</span> Canadian transport executive (born 1948)

Keith Louis Heller is a Canadian transport executive in the rail freight transport industry. In 2005 he was ranked 57 in the Power 100 listing published by Country Life magazine. Heller is notable for having run major rail freight providers in both North America and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Burkhardt</span> American railroad executive

Edward Arnold Burkhardt is a railroad executive, the founder and current chairman of Rail World Inc.

AtkinsRéalis Group Inc., previously known as SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to various industries, including mining and metallurgy, environment and water, infrastructure, and clean energy. AtkinsRéalis was the largest construction company, by revenue, in Canada, as of 2021.

Keith Creel is the president and chief executive officer of Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

The SNC-Lavalin affair is a political scandal involving attempted political interference with the justice system by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The Parliament of Canada's Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion found that Trudeau improperly influenced then Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in an ongoing criminal case against Quebec-based construction company SNC-Lavalin by offering a deferred prosecution agreement.

References

  1. "CN Rail CEO Claude Mongeau stepping down due to medical issue". CBC News. June 7, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  2. Scott Deveau (December 30, 2011), ‘High probability’ ex-CNR head would take CP helm, Financial Post . Accessed September 20, 2013,
  3. Associated Press (April 29, 2009). "CN Names Replacement For Promoted CFO". The Street. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  4. "Past Recipients". CFOY. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013.
  5. Vantuono, William C. "CN training center named after Mongeau" . Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "CN's new CEO 'not just a numbers guy'". The Globe and Mail. 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  7. "Norfolk Southern names Claude Mongeau chair of the board of directors". Norfolk Southern Newsroom. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  8. Deveau, Scott (2013-02-04). "Rivals CP Rail and CN Rail forge executive poaching accord". Financial Post. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  9. 1 2 "CN caps CEO's bonus because of rise in train derailments, injuries". The Globe and Mail. 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  10. "CN Rail chief executive Claude Mongeau resigns". Reuters. 2016-07-07. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  11. 1 2 Critchley, Barry (2012-03-02). "CN's Mongeau on SNC committee highlights outside directorship issue". Financial Post. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  12. Seglins, Dave; Houlihan, Rachel; Montpetit, Jonathan (2019-04-15). "What the SNC board may have known about the firm's dealings in Libya — like the office safe with $10M cash". CBC . Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  13. "SNC-Lavalin reports on results of voluntary independent review". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
Preceded by President & CEO of Canadian National Railway
2010 July 1, 2016
Succeeded by
Luc Jobin