ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Board of Directors interviewed three finalists Monday for the position of permanent general manager and chief executive officer.
The board anticipates selecting and announcing the authority’s new leader on Thursday.
The interviews follow a national search to identify a permanent successor to lead one of the largest public transit systems in the United States.
Jonathan J. Hunt has served as interim general manager and chief executive officer since August 2025.
Executive search firm Diversified Search Group was retained to lead the search effort.
Jennifer N. Ide, chair of the MARTA Board of Directors, led the search process alongside Chair-Elect Al Pond.
Ide emphasized the significance of selecting the agency’s next leader. “Choosing MARTA’s next GM/CEO is one of the most consequential decisions this board will make and the region deserves a rigorous process,” Ide said. “I’m proud of the national search we ran and of the caliber of the three finalists it produced.”
Diversified Search Group conducted outreach across the transportation sector, contacting more than 250 prospective candidates from transit agencies, airports, railroads, port authorities and logistics organizations.
Pond commended the broad scope of the candidate search.
“This was a national search in every sense of the word,” he said. “DSG cast a wide net across the transportation industry and beyond and this board was deliberate at every stage. These three finalists rose to the top of a deep and competitive field and I believe any of them could lead MARTA well.”
Ide added that board members appreciate the care brought to the process, noting, “We intend to take the time to get this decision right.”
The search was guided by a position description adopted in February that sought an executive with strong management experience in mass transit or related fields.
The candidate profile highlighted the ability to manage large-scale capital projects, maintain fiscal oversight and navigate complex stakeholder priorities. The position description also called for a leader committed to safety, customer service, fiscal responsibility and diversity, equity and inclusion.
The three finalists include Cleveland Ferguson III, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. Ferguson joined the Jacksonville agency in 2015 and assumed his current position in 2023.
Ferguson leads administrative operations, strategic planning and economic development initiatives, including public-private partnerships and transit-oriented development.
He previously served as deputy chief administrative officer for the City of Jacksonville and taught as a law professor at Florida Coastal School of Law. He’s a is a member of the Florida Bar and the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hunt, who has served as MARTA’s interim general manager and chief executive officer since August 2025, is also a finalist. Hunt joined MARTA in 2014 and spent more than a decade in its legal department, holding positions as chief of corporate law and real estate, deputy chief counsel and chief legal counsel.
Earlier in his career, he served as a senior assistant city attorney for the City of Atlanta handling aviation matters for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Hunt serves on the national board of the American Public Transportation Association.
Leroy Jones, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, is the third finalist.
Jones assumed his role as chief operating officer at WMATA in 2025 after working for the agency for more than 26 years.
He began his career at WMATA as an entry-level track laborer and advanced through multiple operational roles, including superintendent of track maintenance, senior vice president of bus services and chief transportation officer.
The MARTA Board of Directors will convene for its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday. Board members expect to deliberate in executive session before selecting and announcing the new MARTA leader.
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