LONG BEACH >> Kenneth McDonald’s move to Long Beach was strategic.
The new head of Long Beach Transit chose a condominium downtown, where he could be near the main transit hub and get to know the system that carries nearly 28 million passengers in and around Greater Long Beach.
“That was very critical,” said McDonald, who moved here from Atlanta with his family and took the helm this month. “I am a person that spends a lot of time out. You will see me on this system, riding the system. I go to the garages and make sure I am involved in what’s happening with the transit agency.”
McDonald, who beat out about 50 internal and external candidates for the job, has been spending the last few weeks getting up to speed on the agency’s operations, riding the routes and getting to know his 731 employees and new community.
“I’m really excited to get involved and to begin to look at what we can do together … to make this a great organization and continue to go in that direction.”
Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, McDonald moved to Georgia to attend Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s in technology management.
He found his passion for transit at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, where he spent 20 years learning the business, eventually becoming the agency’s assistant general manager of operations. He was in charge of railcar maintenance and brought more than 100 new vehicles to the agency.
He also spent three years at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency as chief operating officer. He was involved in a project that reviewed the on-time performance of one of its systems and increased it to almost 80 percent.
“I really enjoy being part of that,” he said of transit. “Many aspects of it — supporting the community and giving back to the community — I think I really enjoy the interaction with employees and with customers.”
Debra Johnson, deputy chief operations officer at Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, worked with McDonald in San Francisco.
She described McDonald as someone who has respect for his employees while challenging them to think outside of what’s familiar.
“He’s a dynamic leader,” she said. “It’s not just rhetoric. He walks the walk.”
After a stint as assistant vice president of Transit and Rail Systems with Parsons Brinckerhoff International, McDonald has returned to public transit, this time as the head of Long Beach Transit.
He follows longtime president and CEO Larry Jackson, who retired after 38 years of service.
Board members, who began the national search in August 2012, wanted a veteran in the transit industry and liked McDonald’s experience in the public and private sector.
“We were looking for someone to continue the success we have had with Larry Jackson, who has taken us to a place where we are considered best in class in the transit industry,” board Chairwoman Barbara Sullivan George said after McDonald’s hiring was announced.
McDonald praised Jackson, with whom he spoke before taking the job.
“Larry Jackson built this organization,” he said, adding that it’s unheard of in the transit industry for a general manager to serve more than 30 years. “No one is going to fill his shoes. I don’t think that I’m looking to come in to fill Larry Jackson’s shoes, but to build on the legacy that he has built for this organization.
“He’s left an organization where all we can do is go up,” he said. “That’s what I intend to do, is go up from here.”
Contact Karen Robes Meeks at 562-499-1303.
0 comments:
Post a Comment