COO Shake-Up at CN
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Edmond (“Ed”) Harris
CN on Nov. 28 reported that 40-year railroad veteran Edmond (“Ed”) Harris has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately. He succeeds Rob Reilly.
Prior to joining CN in a consulting capacity in April 2022, Harris served as Executive Vice President, Operations at CSX from 2018 to 2020, and as Chief Operations Officer at Canadian Pacific (CP) from 2010 to 2012. He also spent three decades at Illinois Central and CN, including as Executive Vice President, Operations until 2007. Harris has been on the Board of Directors at Duos Technologies, an advanced analytical technology solutions provider, since 2021; he has also been on the Wi-Tronix Board.
As a CN consultant, Harris “has worked closely with the entire CN operations leadership team on the company’s operational and service excellence initiatives, as the team delivered meaningful rail operations performance and customer service improvements,” CN said.
Rob Reilly—one of 10 Railway Age Readers’ Influential Leader picks for 2022—joined CN in 2019, following 30 years of industry service; he signed on with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Company (now BNSF) in 1989. According to CN, he “led the operating team through the global pandemic and supply chain challenges. The entire leadership team at CN thanks Mr. Reilly for his contributions to CN and wishes him the very best in his future endeavors.”
“We are very pleased to be able to leverage Ed’s experience and capabilities as we continue to improve the delivery of safe and reliable freight transportation services to our customers,” CN President and CEO Tracy Robinson said. “CN has made strides in improving our operational performance this year, and our team is ready and committed to take that performance to the next level. Ed will provide leadership and unparalleled experience as we advance into the next phase of our scheduled operating plan. Ed’s guidance and mentorship will also be key assets as we transition to the next generation of operations leaders at CN and position ourselves for the future.”
