Governor David A. Paterson has announced the appointment of Jay Walder to serve as the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). PCAC, along with other leading transit advocates — The Straphangers Campaign (NYPIRG), the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the Regional Plan Association, have issued a joint letter to the NYS Senate calling for the confirmation process of the new MTA leader to begin without delay. “It is critically important to the riders for whom we advocate that the MTA has a capable, dynamic, and decisive Chairman and CEO to steer the organization through the challenges ahead. We call upon [the Senate] to immediately move forward with scheduling and holding hearings.”
Mr. Walder is a Partner in McKinsey’s London office and the Global Leader of McKinsey’s Infrastructure Practice, where he specializes in the areas of large-scale capital investments, public-private partnerships and urban transit. From 1983 to 1995, he served in a variety of positions within the MTA, including Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer from 1993 to 1995.
Prior to joining McKinsey, Mr. Walder was the Managing Director of Finance and Planning at Transport for London (TfL). He was responsible for the successful integration and operation of business and planning functions across the range of TfL’s activities. He led the implementation of the widely successful Oystercard, now the largest contactless smartcard in Europe, helped to create a $20 billion capital investment program for London Transport, and served on the Board of Directors of Crossrail, a new $30 billion long-term rail-line under London. PCAC is hopeful that his experience and leadership in these areas will bode well for the advancement of MTA’s SmartCard initiative and the long-term capital program.
Walder received his Bachelor of Sciences from Harpur College at the State University of New York at Binghamton, a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and completed the Executive Programme in Strategic Leadership from Templeton College at Oxford University.