Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority (MPTA) - Chief Executive Officer (Charlotte)

POSITION SUMMARY

Reporting directly to the MPTA Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) serves as the Authority’s chief strategic leader and principal public representative. The CEO is responsible for all aspects of organizational leadership, including operations, safety, capital program delivery, administration, financial stewardship, workforce and business development, risk management, regulatory compliance, stakeholder engagement, innovation, and long‑range strategic planning.

SCOPE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The inaugural CEO will be expected to:

• Establish the identity, credibility, and culture of the newly created Authority.
• Build trust among the Board, municipalities, riders, employees, elected officials, business leaders, and community stakeholders.
• Deliver safe, reliable, and customer‑focused transit services while advancing transformational investments.
• Provide support, mentorship, training, and leadership to the Authority’s employees during the transition to ensure they deliver high‑quality services.
• Strengthen relationships with regional, state, and federal partners.
• Create and manage a high‑performing leadership team capable of executing a generational transportation vision.
• Position Charlotte and Mecklenburg County as a national leader in mobility, transportation innovation, and transit‑oriented economic development.
• Demonstrate that transportation investments can improve access to opportunity, support economic growth, and enhance quality of life for all residents.

Essential duties and responsibilities include:

• Provide visionary leadership and establish MPTA as a premier national mobility organization that offers safe, secure, reliable, customer‑focused, timely, affordable, and accessible transit services.
• Partner closely with the Board to translate policy direction into measurable outcomes that positively impact the region.
• Direct day‑to‑day operations in accordance with board policy and applicable laws.
• Develop, execute, and deliver transit services through strategic initiatives that advance mobility, economic development, and long‑term regional growth, considering new technologies and cost‑effective service delivery options.
• Build and promote a culture of operational excellence, accountability, transparency, inclusion, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Strengthen public confidence through exceptional service delivery and responsive leadership.
• Oversee planning, financing, and implementation of one of the nation’s most significant transportation investment programs while delivering high‑quality transit services.
• Establish and oversee enterprise‑wide risk management, safety, security, and compliance programs, ensuring adherence to federal, state, and local regulations while proactively mitigating operational, financial, legal, and reputational risks.
• Advance major mobility initiatives, including the Gold Line Streetcar Program, the Better Bus Program, Red Line, Silver Line, and future multimodal investments.
• Ensure projects are delivered responsibly, efficiently, and in alignment with board priorities.
• Build productive relationships with elected and local leaders at the local, state, and federal level.
• Navigate a complex governance environment involving multiple jurisdictions, municipalities, and stakeholder groups.
• Serve as a trusted ambassador and advocate for the Authority in the media and public settings.
• Develop and submit an annual budget that meets organizational needs.
• Champion MPTA successes locally, statewide, and nationally to secure support, funding, and other services needed to build a world‑class organization and transit system.
• Foster innovation while maintaining operational discipline and fiscal responsibility.
• Recruit, develop, and retain a high‑performing executive leadership team and workforce.
• Build organizational capacity and succession strength for long‑term success.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

Leadership Characteristics:

• Visionary and future‑focused.
• Transformational and entrepreneurial.
• Politically astute and diplomatically skilled.
• Collaborative and consensus‑oriented.
• Innovative and intellectually curious.
• Courageous, decisive, and resilient.
• Ethical, authentic, and transparent.
• Customer‑focused and community‑minded.
• Grounded, pragmatic, and solutions‑oriented.
• Problem solver and solutions‑based leader.
• Steady, composed, and mission‑driven leader.
• Provides a calm and steady presence during periods of change and complexity.
• Demonstrates sound judgment, emotional maturity, and consistency under pressure.
• An even‑tempered executive who inspires confidence through thoughtful decision‑making.
• Leads with discipline, patience, and unwavering commitment to the mission and vision.
• Maintains perspective and composure while navigating complex political, operational, and stakeholder environments.
• A trusted and credible leader who balances urgency with deliberation.
• Exhibits executive presence, resilience, and steadiness in both routine operations and high‑pressure situations.

Executive Capabilities:

• Proven ability to lead large, complex, multi‑disciplinary organizations through periods of growth, change, and heightened public visibility while maintaining operational excellence and organizational alignment.
• Demonstrated success overseeing substantial operating budgets, long‑range financial plans, and multi‑billion‑dollar capital investment programs with transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility.
• Skilled in partnering with governing boards, elected officials, and executive leadership teams to establish strategic direction, support effective governance, and achieve organizational objectives.
• Recognized for thoughtful decision‑making, balancing competing priorities, and serving as a steady, trusted leader focused on long‑term organizational success and public trust.
• Experience guiding organizations through significant transformation by aligning people, processes, culture, and strategy to deliver measurable and lasting results.
• Exceptional ability to build trust, foster collaboration, and align diverse stakeholder interests across governmental, business, community, labor, and institutional partners.
• Credible and effective public‑facing leader who communicates with clarity, confidence, and authenticity while representing the organization before the public, media, and key stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to remain composed, decisive, and mission‑focused during periods of uncertainty, crisis, operational disruption, political complexity, or public scrutiny.
• Commitment to attracting, developing, empowering, and retaining high‑performing teams while fostering a culture of accountability, inclusion, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to translate ambitious long‑term goals into actionable priorities, organizational alignment, and measurable outcomes that advance the mission and strategic objectives of the organization.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution; advanced degree preferred. Experience leading a large complex organization in lieu of a degree may be considered.
• Ten or more years of progressively responsible executive leadership experience.
• Demonstrated success leading large organizations, major capital programs, and complex stakeholder environments, preferably in public transportation.
• Experience working with governing boards, elected officials, and public‑sector stakeholders.
• Proven ability to build and lead high‑performing teams.
• Experience leading organizational transformation, culture change, and strategic initiatives.
• Strong financial management, planning, and performance management capabilities.