Jay Walder was confirmed on September 10th by the NYS Senate as the new MTA Board Chair and CEO. PCAC applauds this move and looks forward to working with Mr. Walder on the many rider issues that confront the Authority.
Chairman Walder has extensive experience in the public transportation business. He began his career in 1983 where he worked for the MTA heading up its capital program budget office and subsequently became chief of staff and ultimately executive director and chief financial officer. In those positions he played important roles in the creation of the MTA’s first Capital Plan and the implementation of the MetroCard.
After leaving the MTA in 1995, he taught public policy at the John F. Kennedy school of government at Harvard. He subsequently joined Transport for London (TfL) where he served as the managing director for finance and development until 2006. TfL, created in 2000, is the integrated body responsible for the London’s transport services. Walder is credited with the introduction of the system’s extremely successful and popular “Oyster card” and with drafting London’s successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
From 2007 until rejoining the MTA, Mr. Walder was a partner at McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm advising leading companies on issues of strategy, organization, technology, and operations.
Walder grew up in the Rockways in Queens, NY, where he attended Beach Channel High School. He attended Harpur College at the State University of New York at Binghamton, and received a masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.