Jay H. Walder began work recently as chairman and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), meeting with employees and stressing the need for the MTA to deliver on its commitments, show taxpayers good value and improve engagement with the communities it serves. MTA is the largest transit agency in the U.S.
Walder, who was nominated by Governor David A. Paterson and confirmed by the New York State Senate on September 10, said his first priority will be to work intensively with the organization to get up to speed on the MTA's operations and better understand its challenges.
Walder worked at the MTA from 1983-1995, rising to executive director and chief financial officer. In 2001, he joined Transport for London, where he served as the managing director for finance and development until 2006. He is credited with the introduction of the system's popular "Oyster Card" and with drafting the transportation plan for London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. From 2007 until he rejoined MTA, Walder was a partner at McKinsey & Company, a prominent management consulting firm.
He attended Harpur College at the State University of New York at Binghamton and earned a master's degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His term as chairman and CEO of the MTA expires on June 30, 2015.