The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has named Mario Péloquin chief operating officer, responsible for day-to-day coordination of operations. Péloquin will work closely with the MTA senior leadership team and agency presidents to ensure that operating agencies have the resources they need, and he will provide management and focus to further build a performance management culture.
He joins MTA with more than 30 years of expertise in the transportation and rail industry, including experience in senior leadership roles as a transit regulatory manager, building and operating a new light rail system, and managing the transportation business line for premier global companies.
“Mario has the talent and expertise to continue to drive forward the operational gains we have achieved and help bring the MTA into a new era of customer service at this critical time in the agency’s history,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye. “Mario’s experience in transportation management, operations, transformation and development make him uniquely qualified for this role and we are excited for him to join the MTA.”
Most recently, Péloquin served as senior vice president at SNC-Lavalin, where he led business development for the infrastructure construction division and optimized business processes to drive growth strategies for rail and transit. In addition, he created SNC-Lavalin’s first General Infrastructure Group.
Before that, Péloquin served as president and chief executive officer at Thales Transport & Security Inc., overseeing all aspects of the company’s transportation business line. Péloquin also served as general manager at Nova Bus, a division of Volvo Bus, North America, and he managed the transportation business line for the Canadian arm of Siemens and the transit business line for AECOM in Canada.
He began his career at Canadian National Railway Company as an operator and rail traffic controller, before serving as a senior advisor in rail safety at Transport Canada and as a senior investigator with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. He continued this operational experience with building and operating a new light rail system in Ottawa.
Péloquin earned a Master of Business Administration from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in Canada.
“I’m eager to hit the ground running as part of the team that will fundamentally transform the MTA to improve service for more than eight million daily customers,” Péloquin said. “The chance to work for the largest transportation system in North America at such an important time is an incredible opportunity.”