UPDATE 1-CP Rail CFO McQuade to retire, latest exec to leave

* Will be replaced by CP finance VP Brian Grassby

* CP chief operations head quit 10 days ago

* CP faced proxy battle earlier this year

(Adds details on Grassby, background)

Oct 11 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway said on Thursday that its chief financial officer, Kathryn McQuade, will retire on Nov. 1, the fourth senior executive to leave Canada's second-largest railroad after a bruising proxy battle earlier this year.

CP said Brian Grassby, the company's senior vice-president of finance, would replace her as CFO from that date.

McQuade will remain as a senior advisor to Grassby until the end of her contract in May 2013.

CP could not be reached immediately for comment.

The announcement of McQuade's retirement came 10 days after CP said its chief operations officer Mike Franczak had resigned.

Their exits follow the resignations in May of CP Chief Executive Fred Green and Chairman John Cleghorn who left after company management lost a proxy battle to activist shareholder William Ackman and his company, Pershing Square Capital Management.

Ackman's choice for CEO, Hunter Harrison, the former CEO of CP rival Canadian National Railway Co , has since been appointed to the top post at CP.

(Reporting By Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; editing by Carol Bishopric)

(([e-mail])([phone])(Reuters

Messaging: [e-mail]))

Keywords: CANADIANPACIFIC RETIREMENT/