CN President and CEO Claude Mongeau informs‎ employees and stakeholders of health setback

Removal of precancerous throat tumour to require about three months of medical treatment and recovery

MONTREAL, Aug. 12, 2015 /CNW/ - In a communication addressed to all  CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) employees today (click here), Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer, advises that he will soon need to undergo surgery to remove a rare type of precancerous soft-tissue tumour located in the upper left part of his larynx. The medical treatment plan will call for a surgery towards the end of August or early in September, an expected month or so to heal properly, followed by around six weeks of targeted radiation therapy to completely cure the illness so the tumour does not recur in the future.

While Mr. Mongeau intends to remain engaged with CN's business as president and CEO, Luc Jobin, executive vice-president and chief financial officer, will coordinate the CN leadership team and take direction from the company's board of directors until Mr. Mongeau can ‎return to work later this fall.

Mr. Mongeau said: "‎This is a serious health setback for me personally, but one of CN's core strengths is that we have a very experienced and tightly-knit senior team that knows how to lead our railway to success. For this reason, I have all the confidence in the world that CN will not miss a beat while I take good care of myself to recover fully."

CN's leadership team and board of directors ‎are united in offering Mr. Mongeau their full support and wishing him a prompt recovery.

On behalf of CN's board of directors, Robert Pace, chairman, concluded: "We are sorry to see Claude facing this unfortunate health setback. Having witnessed first-hand his extraordinary level of energy and determination over the years, we all remain confident that he and his medical team will be able to address the situation‎ so he can soon fully be back at the helm guiding CN forward. Our committed directors and myself will be there to support the CN leadership team during Claude's recovery period."

CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network spanning Canada and mid-America. CN - Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries -- serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company's website at www.cn.ca.

SOURCE CN

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