Tracy Robinson

As CEO of CN Rail, Robinson oversees a sprawling network of 18,600 miles of track—from coast to coast in Canada and down the middle of the U.S. from Duluth, Minn., to New Orleans. The company transports merchandise like grain, potash, coal, fuel, and various consumer products, and is key to countless companies’ supply chains and smooth transportation of goods in North America. Robinson, who took the reins in early 2022 after nine years away from rail in the energy industry, spent her first year at the helm modernizing CN’s operations, improvements that have led to a faster, more fluid network and carload growth, and contributed to an 18% increase in revenue to $17 billion in 2022. Robinson, who grew up in rural Saskatchewan and cut her teeth in rail transport at CN rival Canadian Pacific, is now focusing Montreal-based CN Rail on increasing capacity, particularly in Western Canada; she plans to boost capital spending by 25% this year to $3.5 billion to support those initiatives.