Los Angeles CA— Metrolink Chief Executive Officer Art Leahy announced his retirement from Metrolink on Friday after leading the agency since 2015, effective January 4, 2019. The Metrolink Board of Directors has appointed General Counsel Don Del Rio and Chief Financial Officer Ronnie Campbell as interim co-CEOs effective immediately.
Leahy, 69, a 47-year veteran of the transportation industry, joined Metrolink after leading Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) as CEO from 2009-2015. Leahy was tapped to lead Metrolink in 2015 because of his deep experience in transportation.
“I express my sincere gratitude to Art for his dedication to this agency and to the people in our six-county service area,” said Metrolink Chair Andrew Kotyuk. “I commend him on the Authority’s many accomplishments under his leadership.”
Leahy started his career in 1971 as a bus operator for the Southern California Rapid Transit District (RTD) and rose through the ranks to become the organization’s Chief Operations Officer. In addition to CEO positions at Metrolink and Metro, Leahy served as General Manager of Metro Transit in Minneapolis-St. Paul (1997-2001), and CEO of the Orange County Transportation Authority (2001-2009).
“The last three years with the organization have been full of accomplishments, including the full implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC), deploying the Tier-4 clean-air locomotives and, more recently, receiving the largest grant ever for Metrolink, $875 million for the SCORE Program,” Kotyuk said. “The Board will begin recruitment of the new CEO at a very exciting time for the agency with the SCORE vision for improving the regional rail system moving forward as well as increasing ridership on many of the lines.”
Leahy grew up in the Highland Park section of Los Angeles. He worked his way through California State University, Los Angeles while driving a bus and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 and a Master of Public Administration degree from USC in 1982.