On Feb. 16, Jean-Jacques Ruest, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer of CN, announced the appointment of his marketing team.
The new team is composed of six senior officers:
- Vee Kachroo, vice-president, industrial products. Kachroo, based in Montreal, was most recently assistant vice-president, sales, for forest products and metals and minerals at CN.
- James Cairns, vice-president, petroleum and chemicals. Cairns, based in Calgary, most recently served as assistant vice-president of CN domestic intermodal and ground transportation; before that, he spent three years as director of marketing for CN's petroleum and chemicals unit.
- Andy Gonta, vice-president, bulk. Gonta, based in Edmonton, will be responsible for CN's grain, fertilizers, sulphur and coal businesses. Gonta has held a number of senior positions in operations.
- Paul Waite, vice-president, intermodal. Waite, based in Toronto, will oversee both domestic and international intermodal services. He was instrumental in developing CN's industry-leading IMX (Intermodal Excellence) model.
- Keith Reardon, vice-president, supply chain solutions. Reardon, based in Chicago, will be responsible for CN's non-rail transportation activities in transloading, freight-forwarding, warehousing, vessels, docks, and a small group of supply chain experts serving all business units, as well as marketing activities for the company's automotive business.
- Doug MacDonald, vice-president, corporate marketing. MacDonald, based in Montreal, will oversee marketing planning, e-business innovations, and strategic account planning activities. MacDonald will also lead the regional sales groups that focus on the growth of small accounts.
"This is a great team of railroaders who know our markets, care about customer needs, and understand how we operate at CN," Ruest said. "With this team, we'll be in a position to deliver real value to our customers and shareholders."
CN also announced that Stan Jablonski, most recently senior vice-president, sales, has agreed to serve as senior advisor to the company through the organizational transition of the marketing group.