TheRide narrows list of CEO candidates to 3

The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, TheRide, said it has three finalists for chief executive officer on Friday.

The search for the authority’s new CEO began in November. Harris Rand Lusk, an executive search firm that specializes in public transportation screened candidates and recommended 14 to TheRide. An eight-member committee then conducted interviews and narrowed the field to three finalists who will be interviewed for a second time by the full Board of Directors on Wednesday.
   
The three finalists are:

- Matt Carpenter, who has 15 years of experience in the transit industry, with eight of those years as the CEO of Strathcona County Transit in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada.

- Andre Johnson, general manager of Connect Transit in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Since his tenure in 2011, Connect Transit has grown by 40 percent.

- Marty Sennett, who has served as general manager for the Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corp, also known as CityBus, for 30 years. He is the second longest running GM for a transportation department in the nation and has transformed a small 22-bus system into the second largest transit system in Indiana.
 
“After a thorough national search that resulted in more than 70 applicants, we’re pleased to have found three well-qualified candidates who all have leadership experience in the public transportation industry,” TheRide Board Chair Charles Griffith said. “We’re thankful for the input we’ve received from the public throughout the process, and look forward to providing an opportunity for people to meet the three finalists as we progress towards hiring our new CEO."
 
Griffith said that with 6.6 million annual rides provided by the area’s public transportation facilities and a projected service increase of 44 percent, TheRide will select a CEO who is passionate about improving public transportation.