Download the full resolution photo

TRACY ROBINSON

President and Chief Executive Officer

Tracy Robinson was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of CN on February 28, 2022 and is responsible for CN’s strategic direction and leadership.

Prior to joining CN, Ms. Robinson was Executive Vice-President of TC Energy, President of Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines and President of Coastal GasLink, where she was responsible for the operation and profitability of the company’s federally- and provincially-regulated natural gas pipeline assets. Ms. Robinson helped advance TC Energy’s relationships with Indigenous partners across the country, including the development of agreements with a number of Indigenous communities in Alberta and the advancement of agreements with all 20 of the First Nations along the Coastal GasLink corridor.

Ms. Robinson’s deep experience in the railway industry stems from her 27 years at Canadian Pacific Railway. There, she served in executive roles in the commercial, finance and operation functions, including as General Manager of Transportation Services, Vice President and Treasurer, and Vice President of Marketing and Sales.

She is a member of the Campaign Committee and the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Edward’s School of Business of the University of Saskatchewan. She has also represented TC Energy on the Board of the Canadian Gas Association.

Ms. Robinson holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Saskatchewan. She received her Institute of Corporate Directors designation in 2015.

Download the full resolution photo

GHISLAIN HOULE

Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer

Ghislain Houle was appointed Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer in July 2016, based in Montreal. His responsibilities at CN include financial management, strategic planning, strategic acquisitions, and investor relations. Previously, he had been Vice-President and Corporate Comptroller since March 2016, and Vice-President – Financial Planning since March 2007.

Mr. Houle joined CN in September 1997 as Chief of Internal Audit. In July 1998, he was appointed Managing Director, ISP Project, a three-year initiative to improve business processes by replacing CN's administrative support systems with the SAP integrated solution. He became Vice-President and Treasurer in 2001 and in 2004, he was responsible for the integration of the Business Development Group with CN Railway Properties, which he already managed since November 2002.

Prior to joining CN, Mr. Houle held the position of Senior Manager in tax and audit at a major accounting firm.

Mr. Houle is a CPA, CA and holds a bachelor of commerce degree from Laval University and an MBA from McGill University.

Download the full resolution photo

DOMINIQUE MALENFANT

Executive Vice-President and Chief Information and Technology Officer

Dominique Malenfant was appointed Executive Vice-President and Chief Information and Technology Officer in September 2020. Based in Montreal, Dominique is responsible to deliver CN’s technology strategy, with a focus on automation technology and the digitalization of CN’s network and operations.

Dominique has spent nearly 30 years in global leadership roles in the transportation and rail industries. In his most recent role, Dominique was Senior Vice-President, Engineering and Chief Technology Officer at Wabtec Corporation. Prior to his position at Wabtec Corporation, Dominique held the position of Vice-President of Global Technology at GE Transportation. During his tenure at Wabtec Corporation and GE Transportation, Dominique was focused on the next generation of Precision Scheduled Railroading and Positive Train Control technologies and spearheaded a major digital industrial evolution in rail.

Previous to GE Transportation, Dominique served as Vice-President of Product and Engineering for the Transportation Propulsion and Control Business at Bombardier Transport. He also managed Bombardier Transport’s North American group, where he was responsible for Product Management, Engineering and Supply Management. He also led the Center of Expertise R&D group, and has experience in Plant Management, Engineering Quality Assurance, Systems Engineering, and Project Management.

Dominique holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Laval University, Quebec.

Download the full resolution photo

Rob Reilly

Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer

Rob Reilly was appointed Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer in July 2019, based in Montreal. He also assumed interim responsibility for CN’s Information and Technology function from November 2019 to September of 2020.

Joining CN with 30 years of experience in the rail industry, Mr. Reilly is responsible for CN’s 24/7 operations overseeing about 20,000 railroaders from the Transportation, Engineering, Mechanical, Network Operations and Safety groups across North America. Mr. Reilly brings to the Company extensive leadership in safety, rail operations, field application of rail technologies, and a deep understanding of the intermodal business at major ports and large terminals.

Prior to his role at CN, Mr. Reilly joined the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Company (now known as BNSF) in 1989. A graduate of Washburn University, Kansas, U.S., he completed the Executive Program at Stanford University. His career in the railway industry has taken him across the U.S. in a succession of increasingly senior positions, most notably in Chicago and the U.S. west coast.

Download the full resolution photo

OLIVIER CHOUC

Senior Vice-President and Chief Legal Officer

Olivier Chouc was appointed Senior Vice-President and Chief Legal Officer on September 15, 2022. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Université Laval in 1990 and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1991. He left private practice in 1998 after seven years at Ogilvy Renault, to join Abitibi-Consolidated (Donohue Inc.) as in-house counsel, where he was responsible for supporting procurement management as well as the company's real estate, litigation and intellectual property portfolio. He was also entrusted with transactional work, including with some aspect of the major transaction leading to the sale of Donohue Inc. to Abitibi-Consolidated. In 2000, he joined the CN Law Department in a counsel capacity to support real estate, supply management, as well as transactional work. He then moved to a senior counsel position with increased responsibilities in the area of mergers and acquisitions and was eventually responsible for the management of the mergers and acquisition group. In 2006, he was named Assistant Vice-President, General Counsel and Managing Partner and in 2011, he was named Vice-President, Legal.

In 2005, he was named Canada's Top 40 under 40 In-House Counsel by the National Post.

Mr. Chouc is involved with charitable organizations, namely the Fondation Marie-Vincent, The Ted Nolan Foundation and the Fondation Enfants-Retour. He is currently the Chairman of the CN Employees' and Pensioners' Community Fund after ending a two year mandate as co-president.

Download the full resolution photo

DOROTHEA KLEIN

Senior Vice-President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Dorothea Klein was appointed Senior Vice-President and Chief Human Resources Officer in December 2019.

She came to CN from ABB, where she was most recently Senior Vice-President, Human Resources of the Electrification Business that counts over 50,000 employees.

Dorothea has an extensive human resources, finance and M&A background, having served other large North American and European companies in various industries, notably pharmaceuticals and healthcare, over the past 30 years. With this experience, she brings valuable cross-functional leadership and workforce transformation skills to CN.

Based in Montreal, she leads CN’s continuing journey of being a best-in-class employer by overseeing leading human resources and labour relations practices.

Dorothea is a graduate of Business Administration at the University of Reutlingen ESB Business School, Germany, and the CESEM-NEOMA business school in Reims, France. She also completed Executive Management programs at LSU in Baton Rouge, USA, as well as Wharton and INSEAD.

Download the full resolution photo

DOUG MACDONALD

Chief Marketing Officer

Doug MacDonald was appointed Chief Marketing Officer in March 2022. He overseas all customer-related business areas and activities, including the strategic commercial roadmap for CN.

Doug has more than 30 years of experience in the rail industry. Since joining CN in 1989, he has held diverse roles in Marketing, Sales, Information Technology and Operations, which have equipped him with a unique knowledge of the organization.

Most recently, Doug was the Senior Vice-President Special Projects, Office of the President and CEO, working on key strategic projects for the Company since September 2020. He previously led CN’s advanced technology deployments as Senior Vice-President, Information and Technology and prior to that, he spent time in Operations as Vice-President, Eastern Region since March 2019. During the course of his career at CN, Doug assumed roles in Sales and Marketing as Senior Vice-President, Rail Centric Supply Chain Growth in August 2018, Vice-President, Bulk in March 2016, Vice-President Industrial Products in May 2012, and Vice-President Corporate Marketing in March 2010.

Doug holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Concordia University, in Montreal.

Download the full resolution photo

HELEN QUIRKE

Senior Vice-President and Chief Strategy Officer

Helen Quirke was appointed CN’s Senior Vice-President and Chief Strategy Officer in May 2021 and is based in Montreal.

She is responsible for collaborating with the executive team to develop, enhance and lead CN's strategic planning process. Helen has a wealth of experience in strategic planning and implementation. She is known as an active organizer and constructive challenger of the status quo, bringing fresh perspectives to the railway.

Helen was recently a Managing Director and Partner at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) since 2013, where she was focused on industrial goods companies. Prior to BCG, she led a successful career in sports management in New Zealand.

Helen holds a Bachelor of Science in Statistics and Operations Research (2000), and an LLB (2002) from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. She also obtained a Master of Business Administration from the University of Cambridge in 2012.

Download the full resolution photo

Cyrus Reporter

Vice-President, Public, Government and Regulatory Affairs

Cyrus Reporter joined CN in April 2021. He oversees engagement at all levels of government in both Canada and the United States and leads stakeholder and community relations, an essential mission with CN’s focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance initiatives. In his role Cyrus also oversees internal and external communications and media relations.

Cyrus is well known to senior public servants, politicians, and corporate leaders. In the past 25 years, he served as a ministerial chief of staff and lead adviser to the Office of the Prime Minister, and, most recently, as Partner at one of Canada’s leading national law firms, where he provided counsel on regulatory affairs, public policy and corporate compliance to many of Canada’s leading companies. 

Cyrus serves as a Director at Hydro Ottawa, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Railway Association of Canada. He is a past Member of the Board of Governors at Carleton University.

Cyrus holds a law degree from Dalhousie University.

Download the full resolution photo

MARLENE PUFFER

President and Chief Executive Officer, CN Investment Division

Marlene Puffer was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the CN Investment Division, which manages one of the largest corporate pension funds in Canada, in March 2018.

She has over 25 years of experience in investments, pensions and capital markets. She was previously the Chief Strategist at BCA Research, a global leader in independent macro investment strategy, the President and Founder of Twist Financial, an independent consulting firm, and the Chief Investment Officer at NAV CANADA Pension Plan.

Marlene is former vice-chair of the Board of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.

She earned a Ph.D. in Finance and Applied Statistics and a M.Sc. in Business Administration from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Economics from the University of Toronto. Marlene holds a CFA charter and the ICD.D designation granted by the Institute of Corporate Directors.