CP's Velani recognized as 'CFO of the Year'

Canadian Pacific Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Nadeem Velani has been named Canada's CFO of the Year for 2020.

Presented annually by Financial Executives International Canada (FEI Canada), PwC Canada and Robert Half, the award recognizes senior financial leaders who've made significant contributions to business in Canada.

Velani joined CP in March 2013 and served as VP of investor relations before becoming CFO in September 2016. Prior to CP, Velani spent 15 years at CN, where he worked in a variety of positions in strategic and financial planning, investor relations, sales and marketing and the office of the president and chief executive officer.

Since Velani was appointed CFO, CP has built a strong track record of performance, CP officials said in a press release.

Last year, CP produced reported volume growth, record margins and earnings that increased at a double-digit rate.

Over the past three years, CP's diluted earnings per share have grown 65 percent and adjusted diluted earnings per share have grown 60 percent, cash provided by operating activities has improved by 43 percent and free cash has increased by 35 percent, dividends have grown by 66 percent; and its market cap has grown by about CA$18 billion.

"Over my 28 years of railroading, I have never met a CFO like Nadeem – his influence goes well beyond our company's impressive numbers and into our most important asset, our people," said CP President and CEO Keith Creel. "Every day he and his team practice the fundamentals of precision scheduled railroading, drawing out discretionary effort and high performance. We could not be prouder of him and his team."