Lalonde Appointed CN Chief Commercial Officer
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
Remi Lalonde will transition to the role of CCO, effective April 24. (Image Courtesy of LinkedIn)
CN recently announced that Remi G. Lalonde has been as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective April 24. He succeeds Doug Macdonald, who will retire from CN following a nearly 35-year career.
On Jan. 8, Lalonde was appointed as Executive Vice President and Special Advisor to the CEO, in anticipation of his transition to CMO, a critical executive role that includes overseeing the Class I railroad’s “strong and experienced customer-focused team responsible for sales and marketing.”
Since his arrival at CN in January, Lalonde has been embedded within CN’s operations, gaining first-hand experience with scheduled railroading and executing CN’s ‘Make the Plan, Run the Plan, Sell the Plan’ model. Following his introduction to operations, Lalonde has been meeting customers and working closely with Doug and the team to “ensure a seamless transition to the commercial side of the organization.”
“I am very pleased that Remi will be leading our commercial team. His diverse experience and deep understanding of North American and global supply chains will bring important perspective as we focus our efforts on accelerating sustainable, profitable growth,” said CN President and CEO Tracy Robinson, Railway Age’s 2024 Railroader of the Year. “I thank Doug for his commitment and his contributions to CN over his long career with us. His leadership, pragmatism and expertise contributed meaningfully to our transition to the scheduled operating model and provided us with a clear path forward for growth. We wish him the very best in his retirement.”
Based in Montreal, Lalonde is the former President and CEO of a publicly traded Quebec-based forest products company with international customers. After several years at a Wall Street law firm, he joined the forest products company as a Senior Securities Counsel. Throughout his tenure at the company, Lalonde served in corporate and customer focused roles, including as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and as General Manager for a critical manufacturing facility.
Fluently bilingual in his native French, as well as English, Lalonde holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering from the University of Ottawa. He has led teams, executed strategy, managed regulatory matters, engaged with Indigenous communities and stakeholders, headed manufacturing operations, and worked with investors and suppliers. “Lalonde’s successful track record of cross-functional experience and first-hand knowledge of the importance of supply chains, as well as his focus on business growth and sustainability, will help drive CN’s growth agenda,” the Class I stated.
