MTA boss, Jay Walder, is Hong Kong bound

He brought the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) intothe 21st century, but now Jay Walder is heading to Hong Kong.

Effective October 21, Walder will resign his position as chair andchief executive Officer of the MTA, a job he has held since October2009.

I want to thank Governor [Andrew] Cuomo and former Governor[David] Paterson for the honor of serving the people of New YorkState, Walder said. The MTA’s transportation system is thefoundation of the metropolitan region and we are fortunate to havethousands of dedicated men and women who work so hard to providethese critically important transportation services to millions ofpeople each and every day.

Walder joined the MTA in October 2009, and in less than two yearsoverhauled how it operates.

Under the banner of Making Every Dollar Count, Walder introducedefficiency measures that are expected to yield $3.8 billion incumulative savings by 2014. The effort focused on streamlining theMTA’s seven companies, consolidating functions and eliminatingredundancies. In the face of a fiscal crisis, contracts wererenegotiated with suppliers, health care arrangements were rebidand administrative costs were reduced across the board.

At the same time, under Walder, countdown clocks were activated atmore than 150 stations; security cameras were brought online; anew, user-friendly website was introduced; an all-electronictolling pilot was launched; bus lane enforcement cameras wereintroduced; and new smart card technology was tested and is movingforward for the entire transportation system.

For nearly two years, Jay Walder has shown true leadership at thehelm of the MTA and been a fiscally responsible manager duringthese difficult financial times, said Governor Andrew Cuomo, whowill appoint Walder’s replacement. Riders of the MTA are betteroff today because of Jay’s expertise and the reforms he initiatedwill benefit all for years to come.

On January 1, 2012, Walder will join the MTR Corporation in HongKong as chief executive officer and a member of the Board ofDirectors. The MTR is a publicly-traded company that operates railservices in Asia and Europe, and is involved in a wide range ofbusiness activities, including consulting and propertydevelopment.

This is an exciting opportunity for me to lead a publicly-traded,multi-national corporation with a broad set of businessactivities, Walder said.

If, by October 21 Cuomo has not named a replacement, an interimappointment will be made, according to MTA spokesperson SalvatoreArena.