Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD)’s Board of Directors on Jan. 28 appointed retired Trinity Metro CEO Paul Ballard as the agency’s interim general manager and CEO, bringing to a close a search that began late last year when outgoing leader Dave Genova announced his retirement.
Contract negotiations with Ballard are under way. A start date for the position will be announced soon, according to the RTD.
Ballard retired in April 2019 as CEO from Trinity Metro, which serves the city of Fort Worth, Texas, and its suburbs. Prior to that, he was CEO of the Nashville MTA and Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee. Over more than four and a half decades, Ballard has served as a general manager, CEO or president of public- and private-sector transit systems.
“My Board colleagues and I think that Mr. Ballard will skillfully lead us into RTD’s next era while also ensuring that the agency’s employees remain focused on their service to the public,” Angie Rivera-Malpiede, board chair, said. “On behalf of every Board member, we want to thank the community for its input as part of this process. We look forward to working with him in the months ahead.”
The search for a permanent general manager and CEO begins with the RTD board’s approval to designate up to $200,000 to fund activities associated with an executive search.