Canadian Pacific (CP) Board Changes; Bill Ackman Resigns

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP) announced changes in its Board of Directors as Bill Ackman resigned from the company with immediate effect. The company has appointed Jill Denham and William R. Fatt as new directors. The resignation of Bill Ackman comes after Pershing Square (NYSE:SQ) Management LP, the hedge fund managed by him, sold its entire stake in Canadian Pacific last month.

Growth under Ackman’s Leadership

Bill Ackman had joined Canadian Pacific in 2012 at a time when the company was not performing well. In fact, the company was deemed by many as the worst performing North American Class 1 railroad then during the period. Ackman was instrumental in appointing new board members as well as setting up new management to bring about the company’s transformation. Since 2012, the company has generated over $14 billion in shareholder value and has seen an impressive performance of its share price which beat the S&P/TSX Composite by over 100% through year-end 2015. The company is now regarded as one of the best performing railroads in the industry.

Background of New Board Members

Jill Denham has been associated with the financial services industry since 1983. Denham has held several leadership positions in the industry in the past, including the position of Vice Chair Retail Markets at CIBC, prior to which she was the Managing Director Head of Commercial Banking and E-Commerce at the bank. At present, she serves as the Chair of the Board at Morneau Sheppell and at Munich Reinsurance Canada along with being a board member at National Bank of Canada and Kinaxis Inc.

William R. Fatt held the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FRHI Hotels and Resorts from 1998 up till Jul 2016. FRHI was created from the merger of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Raffles Hotels & Resorts in 2006. Fatt was also the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Canadian Pacific Ltd prior to the CEO position .Canadian Pacific Ltd. is the parent company of Canadian Pacific Hotels which was Fairmont's predecessor and Canadian Pacific Railways Co. At present, he is a board member of the Jim Pattison Group and the Bank of Nova Scotia. Prior to this, he served as the board member of companies such as Cadillac Fairview Corp., EnCana Corp., SunLife Financial Inc. and Enbridge Inc.

The company expects the experience and expertise of the new board members to be beneficial for its future performance.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Canadian Pacific currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the wider transportation sector include Air transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) , Copa Holdings SA (NYSE:CPA) and SkyWest Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) . All stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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