MARTA names permanent CEO, general manager

ATLANTA - MARTA named a new permanent CEO and general manager on Thursday. 

What we know:

Jonathan Hunt has served as interim general manager and CEO since Collie Greenwood departed due to immigration and personal matters.

He also served as MARTA's chief legal counsel.

While serving as interim manager, officials said Hunt led the transit agency through several projects, including the redesign of MARTA's NextGEN bus network, the Breeze fare system replacement, the city’s first bus rapid transit line, and transit operations for the summer World Cup.

What they're saying:

MARTA Board of Directors Chair Jennifer N. Ide praised Hunt’s performance during his interim tenure, highlighting his impact on the agency's recent growth:

"Over the past year, Jonathan has demonstrated strong leadership and adept decision-making, guiding MARTA through its largest and most complex periods of improvement in its history. At the same time, he has strengthened stakeholder relationships, improved public and employee engagement, and ensured the customer is always front and center. My fellow board members and I are thrilled to name him as permanent GM/CEO."

Hunt said he was honored and looks forward to MARTA's future under his leadership. 

"I am honored by this decision and look forward to continuing the important work of improving MARTA service, increasing ridership, and expanding the transit system," he said. "This last year serving in the interim role has been the most rewarding and purposeful experience of my professional career and I have a renewed dedication to this vital work, and most importantly to the people we serve every day. 

He added that his mission will be to deliver clean and reliable transit.

Borrowing a phrase from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Hunt called MARTA a "group project" and pledged to focus on transparency to rebuild public trust across the region.

"I look forward... to a greater level of collaboration across our jurisdictions, with our business partners and with our community leaders, and additionally, some additional transparency as much as we possibly can in order to build back trust in MARTA," Hunt said. "We started doing that in a major way this year, but we still have a long way to go.

The backstory:

Hunt was one of three finalists, including Cleveland Ferguson III of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Leroy Jones of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Ide said the agency screened 250 applicants before selecting Hunt, pointing to his leadership during the FIFA World Cup as a turning point.

"All eyes were on MARTA and on Jonathan, and he met the moment and delivered," Ide said, adding that the goal now is to "carry the momentum of the World Cup into our everyday routine."

He joined MARTA in 2014 and spent more than a decade in the transit agency's legal department as chief of corporate law and real estate, deputy chief counsel, and chief legal counsel before he was named interim general manager and CEO. 

Officials said that before he joined MARTA he was a senior assistant city attorney for the City of Atlanta, where he handled aviation matters for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Hunt chairs the legal affairs committee and sits on the national board for the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). He holds a bachelor's degree from Hampton University and a Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University.

PREVIOUS STORIES

• MARTA CEO retires over immigration status
• Jonathan Hunt appointed interim CEO of MARTA; board creates strategic advisory group

What we don't know:

MARTA did not say who will permanently step into Hunt's former role as MARTA's chief legal counsel.