MassDOT appoints new leadership team

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) named Brian Shortsleeve chief administrator for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), working alongside the newly appointed Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) and named Jeff Gonneville, a 14-year veteran of the MBTA, chief operating officer.

Interim General Manager Frank DePaola will continue in his current role focusing solely on operations.

Under the MBTA reforms Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker recently signed into law, the MassDOT secretary was given the ability to name the MBTA’s general manager. Given the immense reforms underway at the MBTA, Secretary Pollack divided the T’s leadership into two positions in accordance with the recommendations of the governor’s MBTA Special Review Panel. The chief administrator will focus on the fiscal health of the organization, enabling the general nanager to focus on improving service for customers.

“Brian is a proven leader with a successful track record fixing and running complex organizations large and small and his expertise is exactly what is needed to get the job done,” said Gov. Baker. “The taxpayers of Massachusetts deserve a transportation system they can rely on and together with the FMCB, our new leadership team at the MBTA can implement the reforms outlined by our panel of experts.”

“With the governance and leadership in place, I believe the MBTA is on track for a transformation designed to ensure that customers receive the safest and most reliable, innovative and customer-responsive transit possible,” said Secretary Pollack. “The FMCB is moving quickly and with Brian’s intense focus on the financial health of the organization combined with Frank and Jeff’s experience with system operations, we are moving ahead to fix the T.”

The FCMB is working toward the required 60-day report to the legislature, as well as the immediate service improvements and track upgrades already underway at the MBTA. The MBTA is also currently implementing the $83-million Winter Resiliency Plan, which is making investments this summer and during the next five years in snow removal equipment, infrastructure upgrades and operations during harsh weather to improve service reliability.

Shortsleeve has nearly 20 years of leadership experience in the public and private sector managing change in complex organizations. He served in the Armed Forces as a United States Marine Corps officer and in the business world as an adviser and investor in businesses, which were undergoing periods of both rapid growth and operational turnaround.

DePaola has served in his current role since February and brings more than 30 years of design and construction experience from the public sector, including MassDOT, where he is the chief operating officer and formerly the administrator for the Highway Division.
DePaola joined MassDOT in 2009 as the assistant general manager for the MBTA’s Design and Construction Directorate.

Gonneville has been with the MBTA for nearly 15 years, dutifully working toward improving the agency and, as a result, rising through the ranks. Gonneville has been deeply rooted in public transportation for decades, responsible for administration, efficiency, contract management and maintenance. He became the acting chief operating officer in May and most recently served as the chief mechanical officer of the MBTA, responsible for the maintenance, oversight, long-term strategic planning and all other related tasks for maintaining a state of good.

 

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