Leader named COO of WMATA

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) named Joseph Leader as the new chief operating officer (COO) in charge of rail, bus and paratransit services, effective August 1.

 

Leader has 30 years in transportation operations and recently served as a consultant to the general manager/chief executive officer on rail organizational and fleet management as an associate for Bianco Associates.

“Working with Joe on restructuring WMATA’s rail operations gave me an opportunity to learn his strategic approach to operational safety, day-to-day safety culture and his customer service orientation, which are consistent with the way I want WMATA to conduct itself moving forward,” said Paul Wiedefeld, WMATA general manager and chief executive officer. “I am pleased that Joe sees us as an organization that is changing and hungry for improvement and that he is enthusiastic about taking on this crucial role.”

Until this year, Leader served as senior vice president of the Department of Subways, New York City Transit (NYCT), which includes 27,000 employees, 800 track miles and 469 stations. He previously served as chief of safety investigations for NYCT. Through a strong incident command structure and a solid safety and customer service culture, Leader and his team were credited with restoring service in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. He also led a comprehensive maintenance program that accelerated trackwork and improved safety and productivity.

In a notice to employees, Wiedefeld thanked Jack Requa for his support as Acting COO and said he will resume his role as executive managing officer.

 

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