Three finalists for the top MARTA job were announced Aug. 10, including Jonathan Hunt, who has been serving as the interim CEO for more than a year.
The other two finalists are Cleveland Ferguson III of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Leroy Jones of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Whoever is named CEO on Aug. 13 will face major challenges, including how to increase ridership, how to have more reliable bus and train service with enough drivers to stay on schedule, getting the new CQ400 railcars in operation, reassuring the public the system is safe, expediting the More MARTA program, reversing a decline in fare revenue, convincing the state and federal government to financially support MARTA and seeking ways to expand system’s rail and bus network.
When Hunt announced a few weeks ago that he was interested in becoming the permanent CEO, the speculation was that he had the inside track for the job. Originally, Hunt said he would not seek the permanent position, telling media at that time he would stay on as MARTA’s chief legal counsel.
Hunt may have decided to go public after MARTA received accolades for how it moved millions of passengers during the FIFA World Cup activities in Atlanta.
“I was able to visit three major FIFA cities in the country, and they all did a good job,” said Keith Parker, a former MARTA CEO who has been serving on a group advising the agency’s board and executive team. “I can say unequivocally that MARTA’s FIFA performance was second to none. The MARTA experience was phenomenal.”
Parker said it was “refreshing” to have people speak favorably about MARTA, a contrast to criticism MARTA received prior to the matches when there were several safety and operational snafus.
“Jonathan owned it,” Parker said of Hunt. “In my experience, I have seen him go into rooms, take every difficult question and own it. Success is we, we, we. When things don’t go well, he’s the first to step forward.”
Still, Parker was not ready to say Hunt would be the final choice because he said there are three “credible” finalists.
Leadership at MARTA has undergone trying times ever since Parker left the agency in October 2017. His successor, Jeffrey Parker, tragically committed suicide on Jan. 14, 2022. That’s when Collie Greenwood, the deputy general manager, became interim CEO. Several months later, he was named the permanent CEO until June 2025, when he resigned citing visa complications.
“The board has a difficult decision,” Keith Parker said of the current search. “You want to make sure you get it right. It’s the most important decision a board can make.”
Many transit searches are underway nationwide, including Charlotte, N.C., New Orleans and Memphis. The situation is further complicated because several long-time transit leaders are retiring, making it a competitive market for experienced transit leaders.
As an example, DART, the transit agency for Dallas-Fort Worth, selected Nat Ford Sr., a former MARTA general manager, to be its CEO, starting in October. For the past 13 years, Ford has been CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA).
Ford has worked for more than four decades in transit, starting out as a train conductor for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York. After serving at MARTA, he was CEO of the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency.
According to transit insiders, Ford would have been willing to consider returning to Atlanta to serve as MARTA’s CEO.
But the process to select a CEO for DART was a much quicker process than the MARTA search. DART launched its search in April and announced Ford as its top choice on July 21.
The DART search process also was much more transparent than MARTA’s search, according to media reports. It fielded more than 100 applicants, finally narrowing it down to Ford; Dee Leggett, director of business operations for Herzog Transit Services; and Monica Tellez-Fowler, president and CEO of Central Ohio Transit Authority.
The three finalists were named on July 10, then there was a community meet-and-greet with stakeholder sessions that included unions, elected and appointed government leaders, as well as the public on July 11. The final contract approval, which also was open to the public, was approved on July 21.
By comparison, MARTA began its search last August after announcing Hunt as the interim CEO, hiring DSG to conduct the search. In December, the search was disrupted when Zack Deming, the lead recruiter on the MARTA search, left DSG for another firm. There was confusion about whether he would continue working on the search jointly with DSG. Finally, in February, the recruitment resumed with new leaders from DSG conducting the search. It took until August to name the three finalists.
Dallas is also interesting to look at in comparison to Atlanta. Both cities often compete in economic development circles. They tout many similar attributes: being in the Sun Belt, having a major airport, attracting Fortune 500 companies, and competing for major sports events.
In fact, Dallas and Atlanta both hosted a semi-final match during the FIFA World Cup.
From a transit standpoint, MARTA was founded in 1971. It has 48 miles of heavy rail with 38 stations. It is the eighth-largest transit system in the United States. It also has 2.7 miles of streetcar and a 5-mile bus rapid transit route. It had nearly 66 million riders in 2025.
By comparison, DART was founded in 1983. It has one of the most extensive light rail systems in the country with 93 miles. It also has 20 miles of commuter rail, and the system had nearly 53 million riders in 2025.
But a major difference is that most of DART’s transit expansion has occurred in the past 30 years while MARTA quit expanding its rail network in 2000.
Ideally, the next MARTA CEO will work on two levels. He will need to be able to keep the trains (and buses) running on time while operating in a safe and dependable environment.
But, maybe even more importantly, MARTA needs a CEO who can work with regional, the state and the federal government to re-envision what transit can mean for metro Atlanta.
If the Atlanta region wants to have a decent quality of life, it’s going to need a robust and efficient transit system that can accommodate its population growth. Already traffic has gotten so bad that people are citing it as a reason to not move to the Atlanta region or to leave for less congested places to live.
A new CEO will need to work with its board, partner governments and especially the state to provide viable transit options – an effort that is decades overdue.
