NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has selected Anthony McCord as chief transformation officer, giving him a lead role in the reorganization of the agency overseeing New York subways, commuter trains, buses, and other aspects of commuting.
McCord’s wide-ranging managerial experience most recently includes work at international service company Veolia, as site director of the University of Montreal Health Centre. A press release includes a more complete look at his background.
“Anthony brings a wealth of change management leadership and expertise to the MTA at this critical time in the agency’s history,” MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye said in the release. “Anthony will lead the implementation of the MTA’s unprecedented Transformation Plan as we work to change the way we do business and deliver New Yorkers the modern, reliable system they deserve.”
The MTA’s transformation plan includes centralization of engineering, capital planning, and operating functions such as accounting and human relations, currently handled by each of its sub-agencies. [See “MTA approves reorganization plan, task force to address delays,” Trains News Wire, July 26, 2019.]
McCord’s selection, announced Nov. 13, is subject to approval by the MTA board. He is expected to join the agency in December.
Let’s see how long this guy lasts working for Cuomo. I hope he doesn’t expect that he will actually be in charge of this “transformation”. Cuomo gets what Cuomo wants regardless of what others say and think. Between Cuomo and the ding-dong mayor this should be an interesting transformation to watch.
Gerald, I disagree. I know the common support functions, not operations, are being merged. There is and will be tension among the supporting (HR, Accounting, etc) and the supported (the mode operators) over the quality and quantity of support provided. Someone has to be knowledgeable enough to tell the supporters what is really needed and the supported what can be reasonably provided. That someone is a leader with “boots on the ground” experience.
Jeffrey,
He doesn’t need to know anything about transit operations to manage the combination of each agencies back office systems, HR, Capital Planning, Engineering, Accounting, etc., are office functions that have literally nothing to do with operations, those are not being combined.
So MTA hires a person without transportation, much less transit experience, to oversee the transformation of one of the biggest, if not the biggest, urban transportation organization. I’m not of the opinion that only a transit person could do the job. The late Ralph Budd left the Burlington (CB&Q) to become head of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). It does help to know something about transit operations to know the facts from fiction. LOL, New Yorkers.