The new CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority spent 11 years running the Atlanta and San Francisco transit systems.
Nathaniel Ford was the general manager and CEO of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) from 2000 to 2005. Then he was head of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency from 2006 to 2011.
According to the American Public Transportation Association, MARTA is the ninth busiest transit agency in the nation and San Francisco the eighth.
“I think there was consensus of the Board that based on his leadership, his past experience that he’d be the best candidate to be the CEO of the JTA and lead us to the next level,” said Ed Burr, Chairman of the Board for the JTA.
Burr says every successful, job-creating city has a great transit system.
“And we think Nat can deliver that here in the city of Jacksonville and the region of Northeast Florida,” he said.
Burr says it’s a unique opportunity that the Board caught Ford at a time in his career when he can come and lead the JTA full time.
Ford is the owner of The Ford Transportation Group LLC in Atlanta, a transportation consulting firm. He has a total of 29 years of experience in transportation.
Ford is replacing Michael Blaylock, who is retiring after serving as JTA’s Executive Director and CEO for the past 10 years.
“We’re very proud of the job Michael has done,” Burr said. “He’s done great things for the Northeast Florida community and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.”
The board interviewed two other finalists – Stephen Blank, CEO of Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, and Frank martin, a senior vice president for transit and rail at Atkins North America.
The JTA board voted 7-0 to pick Ford as the next JTA CEO.
Ford must now negotiate his contract before starting work. Burr says they hope to have everything done by the first of next year, and “maybe even the first of December.”
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