Our Executive TeamMark Joseph Mark Joseph began his career with Yellow Cab of Baltimore where he served as President and CEO for 20 years. Under his leadership, Yellow Cab grew from a small local operation into a leading regional transportation company, Yellow Transportation, which was recognized nationally for efficiency, customer care, and innovation in multiple modes of transportation. During these years, he served in numerous government advisory and industry leadership positions, including chairing a governmental council on privatization for the state of Maryland and serving as President of the TLPA (international industry trade association). Mark started one the nation’s first paratransit services, created the first urban auto-care mall, and was a founding member and chairman of the US Capital Chapter of YPO, the Young Presidents’ Organization. Mark joined the Connex North America executive team in 2001, when Yellow Transportation was acquired by Connex. Connex was the transportation division of Vivendi Environnement, (now Veolia Environnement-world’s largest environmental company). He became President and Chief Operating Officer of Connex in 2004, and Vice-Chairman and CEO of Veolia Transportation in 2006. He serves on the Executive Committee of Veolia Transport, the Paris-based parent company of Veolia Transportation. As CEO, Mark has rapidly transformed Veolia Transportation into the largest multi-modal transportation company on the continent. He has directed dynamic expansion of bus, rail, paratransit, shuttle, and taxi, including privatization of the New Orleans public transportation authority and the acquisition and expansion of SuperShuttle serving 30 airports throughout the US. An entrepreneur and innovator, he serves on numerous boards-public, private and non-profit, and has lectured at the Wharton MBA program. Mark is committed to values-based leadership, safety, and sustainability. He is dedicated to transforming and improving the quality of life in cities through well-designed, integrated transportation. He recognizes the critical role public transportation plays in stemming climate change, and is determined to uphold Veolia as an unmatched model of sustainable, profitable growth and superior performance to customers. Ken Westbrook Ken Westbrook is responsible for the Transit Division's bus, paratransit, brokerage and BRT contracts with cities and transit authorities. This includes all of Veolia's 120 transit locations and contracts, including leading cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle, Baltimore, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and others. He is responsible for over 17,000 employees organized into seven regions. He leads the teams responsible to continue to enhance the Transit Division’s operational and financial performance including safety, maintenance, customer service, technology, budgets, planning, and staff development. He is responsible for the company’s compliance with contract terms, as well as contract renewals and business growth. Ken has had a distinguished career in transit operations. He was promoted to COO in 2010, from his position as Senior-Vice President of Veolia Transportation's Transit Division for the Eastern Region of the US, which included all contracts east of the Mississippi River. He held this role since 2007 and was responsible for all aspects of operations for half of Veolia's business in the US. Prior to this role, in 1999, he was promoted to Regional Vice-President of the South/Central region for ATC, a well-known private sector operator of transit contracts. He became part of Veolia Transportation when the company acquired ATC in 2005. Early in his career, he was General Manager for Jackson MS, and Pensacola, FL transit operations. Ronald J. Hartman Ron Hartman brings diverse and impressive credentials to the Veolia Transportation senior management team. He began his career with the American Public Transit Association, working in policy, legislation and technical support. He was General Manager of Maryland’s Mass Transit Administration (MTA) for over a decade, charged with more than 2,800 employees and 1,000 vehicles of all transit modes. He went on to serve as Vice President for Planning and Development at Amtrak for 3 years. In 1998, he was named Executive Vice President of Yellow Transportation in Baltimore with key responsibilities in operations and business development. Veolia Transport purchased Yellow Transportation in 2001, and it represented the company’s first acquisition in North America.
Named Executive Vice President of the Rail Division in 2008, Ron oversees Veolia’s $325 million North American rail portfolio. He is our most senior rail executive and manages all aspects of operations, including a comprehensive business development program for identifying and pursuing new contracts and public-private partnership (PPP) opportunities. He also spent 18 months in France helping Veolia penetrate new markets such as airport ground shuttle services and health care-related transportation. Ron holds a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from George Washington University. R. Brian Wier A transportation industry executive for over 20 years, Brian Wier began his transportation career as General Manager of SuperShuttle International’s Dallas location in 1987. He became the company’s Vice President of Operations in 1994. He was named President and CEO in 1997, a position he retained when SuperShuttle was acquired by Veolia Transportation in October 2006. Under Brian’s leadership, SuperShuttle has grown to become America’s largest shared ride airport transportation shuttle, serving 32 of the nation’s biggest airports and transporting 8 million passengers per year. As President and CEO of the On-Demand Division, Brian is responsible for all aspects of SuperShuttle, several large taxi businesses, ExecuCar, Compass and Golden Touch Transportation. He directed eight major acquisitions during the division’s first 18 months of operation, and oversees continued expansion opportunities in the taxi, shuttle and sedan industry. Brian is a past president and board member of the Taxicab, Livery and Paratransit Association (TLPA), the Airport Ground Transportation Association (AGTA) and various industry boards. He attended the University of Texas, and has served in the United States Marine Corps. Alan B. Moldawer Alan Moldawer joined Veolia Transportation as Vice President and General Counsel in 2004 after nearly three decades of private law practice in Washington D.C and Maryland. He is experienced as a trial lawyer and in advising and representing businesses, with a particular emphasis in the ground transportation sector. An AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell since 1983, in 1999 he was listed in its Register of Preeminent lawyers for Business Law. Active in his community both personally and professionally, he served for several years as chairman of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute and Fee Dispute Resolution Committees and as president of his area youth sports organization. In 2006, Alan became Executive Vice President and General Counsel, corporate secretary, and member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Transportation. In addition to having broad responsibilities as a member of the executive team, he is responsible for all of Veolia Transportation’s legal affairs across North America and is its Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. Licensed by the courts of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Illinois1, Alan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. ( in-house admission in IL) Jan Horstmann Jan Horstmann has broad experience in financial control, corporate financing and acquisitions, and has responsibility over all of Veolia Transportation’s financial affairs. He joined Veolia Transportation here in the U.S. in late 2007, after holding several key roles in our parent company’s businesses in Europe. Prior to joining the North American group, Jan served as Chief Financial Officer, of Veolia Transport’s Northern Europe’s Finance and IT teams, which encompassed operations in 9 countries. His responsibilities included financing, managing internal and external growth, and financial controls in a rapidly growing division with annual revenue of over €1.3 billion. Prior to this role, he was Chief Financial Officer of Veolia Eurolines, where he integrated financial reporting systems and led the due diligence, negotiation and finalization of two acquisitions. His prior experience also includes roles as CFO of technology company where he helped raise €11 million in new capital and managed two corporate acquisitions. He also served as audit manager with a large accounting firm, where he provided audit and transaction support services for a portfolio of multinational clients. He performed financial due diligence, valuation and post-closing auditing for many mergers and acquisitions, including a takeover of a 6,000-employee operation. Jan has extensive international and transportation experience, and is fluent in English, French and German. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration / Management Science from the Université Paris-Dauphine. Dick Alexander Dick Alexander oversees business development efforts in North America and has helped Veolia grow to $1 billion in revenues over the past seven years. He is responsible for Veolia Transportation’s efforts to develop partnerships with cities and transit agencies to manage and operate public transit systems, ranging from small start-up projects such as Hinesville, Georgia, to large transit agencies including New Orleans and Las Vegas. Dick is involved in many of the company’s strategic initiatives, including efforts towards Sustainable Development. Prior to joining Veolia Transportation in 2000, Dick owned his own consulting firm assisting public organizations in finding ways to improve operating efficiencies through organizational restructuring, increased service productivity and the involvement of the private sector in public operations. From 1986 to 1998 Dick served as a Regional Vice President for a large private public transportation company in charge of over twenty transit organizations in the Midwest. Dick started his career in the transit industry as a transportation planner and later a system manager. He has a Bachelor degree in Urban Planning and Design from the University of Cincinnati and a Masters of Business Administration from Xavier University. Anita M. Skotnicki Anita Skotnicki has held progressively senior positions in human resource management for more than 20 years. She has extensive experience in all facets of the profession, with particular strengths in recruitment, compensation, benefits and information systems. As Director of Benefits with a multinational food company, she co-managed a team that designed and implemented a flexible benefits program for 16,000 employees, and assisted in a continent-wide migration to new, more efficient HRIS software. As Director of Compensation for a financial information services firm, she integrated HR systems following a corporate merger. Anita joined Veolia Transportation in 2006. As Director of Compensation and Benefits, she managed and automated a health plan with a $60 million budget, and directed compliance and audit functions for a retirement plan with assets of over $40 million. As Senior Vice President of Human Resources, she now oversees all human resource functions, including recruitment, training and labor relations, with a continuous focus on efficiency and process improvement. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (Economics), and is a Certified Compensation Professional. Thomas J. Kenter Tom Kenter came to Veolia in 2001 with 20 years of financial experience in the manufacturing, distribution and service industries. His career responsibilities have progressed from traditional finance and accounting activities, to operational and profit center accountability, to corporate forecasting and business reorganization, to strategy development and implementation. Tom has restructured business units that resulted in elevated profit performance in excess of $5 million annually, better customer relations, improved cash flow, and lower working capital requirements. As Senior Vice President - Strategy and Corporate Development, Tom is a member of Veolia’s executive management team. He brings a results and solution-oriented approach to process improvement, business unit integration, financial controls and business plan development. Tom holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago with a specialty in strategic management and finance, and a Six Sigma Green Belt. Ruth Otte Ruth Otte leads Veolia Transportation’s marketing and communications effort, and brings 25 years of experience developing some of the most successful brands in television and children’s media. She was President of The Discovery Channel for its first nine years, building the brand from relative obscurity to industry prominence. Under her leadership, Discovery’s subscriber base grew from 6 to 65 million households, and annual revenues grew from $7 to $400 million. Ruth was a member of the original team that helped launch MTV in 1981, and worked in senior sales and marketing roles with MTV, Nickelodeon and VH-1. She led the team that re-built The Learning Channel (TLC) to success and profitability. She was President of Knowledge Adventure, a leading publisher of children’s educational software, and Executive Vice-President of Scholastic Inc, a leader in children’s book publishing and school-based educational programs. Ruth received the cable industry’s “Distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership” and was voted “Woman of the Year” by the Women in Cable organization. She holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Maryland. Bill McCloud W.H. (Bill) McCloud is Veolia Transportation’s senior executive, responsible for enhancing client relations across the United States. He launched his transit career as General Manager of Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) in Tampa, Florida in 1992 to 1994. He joined ATC/Vancom in 1994 and was named Chief Operating Officer in 1995. He became Veolia’s Senior Vice President of Client Relations when ATC/Vancom was acquired in 2005. Bill brings wide-ranging private and public sector transit management experience to the senior team at Veolia Transportation. He specializes in building partnerships, and champions a business vision of fiscal and social responsibility. He is a member of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, and was named Citizen of the Year by the City of Tampa, Florida in 1993. He serves on numerous advisory and industry bodies, including the Advisory Board for the National Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) and American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Bus Operator Committee. He is currently in his second year of a doctorate in management at Webster University in St. Louis. |
