Hunter Harrison makes good on promise to change CP Rail culture

Check out this story about Transport Canada’s “unprecedented” order against CP Rail to change their scheduling practices because they are an “immediate threat” to rail safety.

Reading the story, it’s obvious that “Hitman” Harrison has succeeded in creating a culture of fear at the venerated CP Rail.

Now back up a few years, when Harrison was the widely lauded “new Sheriff” in town. Yup, he’d just trousered his fifty million dollar signing bonus from hedgie Bill Ackman, and he was gonna shake up that “spoiled, horrible, permissive” work culture at CP Rail.

Sounds like he’s succeeded!

But it’s not all coming up posies at CP Rail…

Take a gander at the CPR share price history over the past five years. Ackman was loading up on shares back in 2011 when they were in the fifty dollar range. Peaked at well over two hundred in late 2014. By then Ackman had announced an ambitious share buy-back plan designed to drive the share price even higher.

Hasn’t quite worked out that way. As of today, CP Rail shares have lost over half their value from that peak.

The think tank here at Falling Downs would like to think that our January 2014 research report had some small role to play in helping the markets get over their Hunter Harrison euphoria.