After being named the interim president and CEO of CN Rail in March, Jean-Jacques Ruest is taking on the lead role permanently.
On July 24, CN Rail announced in a press release that Ruest, who has worked with the company for 22 years, will officially take the helm.
“In JJ, we have the best,” board chairman Robert Pace said in the release. “He brings vision, energy, and speed to the role. JJ brought the team together to tackle the immediate operational and customer service challenges the Company was facing since the fall of 2017.”
READ MORE: CN apologizes to grain customers
Ruest became the interim president and CEO on March 5 when the former CEO, Luc Jobin, resigned during mass delays of grain shipments in Western Canada. Before, Ruest had been the executive vice-president and chief marketing officer since 2010.
With a masters degree in business administration in marketing from Université de Montréal as well as a bachelor of science in applied chemistry from Université de Sherbrook, Ruest joined CN in 1996. After completing CN’s Railroad MBA program and the University of Michigan’s Business School’s executive program, Ruest’s first position with the company was as vice-president of petroleum and chemicals.
Looking forward, Ruest said, “CN’s leadership team and I are committed to re-establishing best-in-class operational excellence on a sustainable basis; to growing the value of the Company, and to building the CN brand. We will do so by investing in human capital, efficient and effective digitization, and infrastructure that will drive future growth.”
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keili.bartlett@thenorthernview.com
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