CN appoints Ruest president, CEO

Jean-Jacques Ruest has been appointed president and chief executive officer of CN, the Class I announced today.

Ruest, who has been serving as interim president and CEO since March, also has been appointed to CN's board.

After a global search, Ruest was selected as the "right leader to accelerate CN's innovation strategy, to lead the company forward, and to restore and retain industry-leading metrics and best-in-class customer service," said CN Chairman Robert Pace in a press release.

"In JJ, we have the best. He brings vision, energy and speed to the role," Pace said. "JJ brought the team together to tackle the immediate operational and customer service challenges the company was facing since the fall of 2017."

Ruest, 63, has been with CN for 22 years, the past eight as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. He was named the Class I's interim president and CEO after Luc Jobin's abrupt resignation.

"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," Ruest said. "We will do so by investing in human capital, efficient and effective digitization, and infrastructure that will drive future growth. We will write the next chapter in CN's history as we embark on our second century of serving customers safely and efficiently."

As CMO, Ruest was responsible for providing the company's strategic direction and leadership for the sales, marketing and supply chain solutions groups. He joined CN in 1996 as VP of petroleum and chemicals. He was named VP of industrial products in 2003, VP of marketing in 2004 and senior VP of marketing in June 2006.

Prior to joining CN, Ruest worked for 16 years at a major international chemical company.