The Toronto Transit Commission board has appointed acting CEO Rick Leary to the position on a permanent basis.
Transit agency officials said the board unanimously approved Leary’s appointment during a meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Leary, who is the TTC’s chief service officer and deputy chief executive officer, replaces Andy Byford. Byford left the TTC in December to become CEO of the New York City Transit Authority. Leary was appointed acting CEO shortly after.
A report to the board by executive search firm Boyden said 166 people applied for the position and eight were put on a short list. TTC staff said that list was then whittled down to two candidates, both of whom were interviewed in June.
It’s not clear how many of the applicants were transit agency staff members. TTC chair Josh Colle and four members of the board conducted interviews with the prospective candidates.
“The Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Transit Commission assumes the highest level of responsibility for the development and execution of policies, procedures and projects that continue to promote advancements in the critical areas of accessibility and equity on behalf of TTC transit customers and TTC employees,” the report prepared by TTC staff said.
Leary will face several challenges going into their tenure, such as working with Bombardier amid ongoing streetcar delivery and maintenance issues, navigating the Scarborough subway extension, continuing work on the downtown subway relief line and addressing aging infrastructure.
Mayor John Tory congratulated Leary on his appointment and praised Leary’s work in reducing the number of streetcar short turns and improve the state-of-good-repair program.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Mr. Leary over the past few months and have been impressed by his commitment to improving transit for riders,” he wrote in a statement.
“Mr. Leary has vast experience in transit. Before he came to Toronto he worked his way up from a train attendant to manager of fare collection, and ultimately to the Chief Operating Officer at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. This experience will serve him well and has given him an appreciation of the important work our front line employees do every day.”
A TTC spokesperson said Leary’s appointment won’t take effect until an employment contract is agreed upon, which is expected to happen next week.
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