It appears Canadian National Railway Co.'s former chief executive, Hunter Harrison, didn't much like taking the train, the Toronto Globe and Mail reports.
The railroad's proxy materials are out and they show that he ran up bills of nearly $1.5 million in 2008 and 2009 for personal use of company planes.
Transport Canada's records show the company as the owner of both a Gulfstream IV and a Canadair Challenger.
According to the CN filing, company policy required the CEO to fly in the private jets even on personal trips "for efficiency and security reasons." However, "it was also a condition of Mr. Harrison's employment arrangements with CN."
Mr. Harrison's travel plans were part of a total pay package of $17 million in 2009, his final year running Canadian National Railway Co.
That's a nice raise from the $13 million he made in 2008, still not bad for a job on the rails. Now, he'll have to get by on the $1.5 million (U.S.) pension he's entitled to, while presumably buying his own plane tickets.
CN only allows the CEO to fly in the corporate jet for business purposes, "save for exceptional circumstances and provided all incremental costs are fully reimbursed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations," spokesman Mark Hallman said.
"CN's board of directors believes that this change continues to align CN's policies with best practices in executive compensation."
(This item appeared in the Globe and Mail March 24, 2010.)
