CP Rail designates first woman to head railway’s board of directors

CALGARY – Canadian Pacific Railway has selected the first woman to head the board of directors of the country’s second-largest railway.

Isabelle Courville, 56, has been designated to replace Andrew Reardon at the Calgary-based company’s annual meeting in May, according to a proxy circular.

An independent director since 2013, Courville is one of four women on CP’s nine-member board. The former Hydro-Quebec executive is also currently a member of the boards at SNC-Lavalin and Laurentian Bank.

She received $303,504 in compensation from CP Rail last year — half to be paid in cash, the rest in share-based awards. As chairman, Reardon received $514,344 in total compensation in 2018.

CP Rail CEO Keith Creel received $12.5 million in compensation last year, down from $20.1 million in 2017, the year he was appointed president and CEO.

The decrease was mainly the result of a reduction in option-based awards.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CP)