Creel, a former protege of Canadian Pacific Chief Executive Hunter Harrison, was previously executive vice president and chief operating officer at Canadian National Railway, the railroad that Harrison ran before he moved to CP.
It had been widely expected that Harrison, who turned CN into North America's most efficient railroad as CEO of the company, would ask Creel to follow him to CP.
Harrison took the reins at CP after a bruising proxy battle a year ago, and he has already taken steps to improve its worst-in-class operating efficiency.
CN Rail sued Harrison more than a year ago, accusing him of breaching his non-compete obligations when he joined CP. CN Rail said on Monday it had reached a settlement with CP and Harrison and will soon announce a replacement for Creel.
As part of the settlement, CP will not hire certain CN employees until Dec. 31, 2016, CN said in a release. Additional terms of the settlement were confidential. (Reuters)
