Ron Garrison Email & Phone Number

Greater St. Louis Area

Deliver consulting services in mass transit, mobility innovation and management, operations, marketing, transit innovations, financial/budgets, performance management, organizational development and leadership

Memphis Metropolitan Area

Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA), Memphis, TNChief Executive Officer, August 2014 - January 2017Restructured and managed mass transit enterprise including services to include the trolley system, fixed route bus, paratransit and special services.Developed and implemented strategic plans and goals, provided financial oversight and established key performance indicators to measure operational efficiency. Led teams of operators, managers and technicians and other staff members necessary for seamless activities. Secured key relationships with local and regional partners to obtain local, regional and federal funding and support, allowing the system to maintain growth. Directed numerous projects including the creation of a transit oriented development (TOD) 17-acre center incorporating a multi-modal station, Amtrak offices, customer waiting area, theater, hotel, restaurant, coffee shop, farmers market, residential apartments, office buildings and a pedestrian concourse. This TOD project included over $55 million in private investment revitalizing an entire downtown community.• Increased on-time performance for buses from 44% to over 73% and paratransit from 46% to more than 93%.• Spearheaded public-private partnership for Memphis Area Transit Authority's 17-acre Central Station site erasing nearly $3M dollars in debt, adding a new revenue stream and creating an innovative transit-oriented development.• Generated $6M in new operating funds and an additional $30M in capital funding for the authority.• Reduced operating costs by more than eight percent.• Forged strong relationships with MPO, Chamber of Commerce, Mayor’s Office, local leadership and developers, local and regional businesses, transit advocates, nonprofit organizations, FTA and TDOT resulting in new funding sources. Delivered TEDx Talk on innovation in mass transit entitled “Transportation in an APP Society”.

Greenville, South Carolina Area

Directed national customer service programs related to preventive and warranty maintenance, warranty and service programs and parts inventory for electric buses and charging systems at plants and customer locations in the U.S. Supervised teams of service technicians and department managers located throughout the country to assure safe and effective service. Coordinated training programs for first responders, preventative maintenance, charging systems and repairs. Implemented innovative systems for enhanced quality and reliability such as the Field Incident Reporting system and Engineering Change Orders. Considered subject matter expert supplying knowledge through consulting for national and international mass transit and manufacturing organizations. • Increased fleet up time by 30%.• Realized cost savings of $400K annually with creation of national inventory system.• Contributed to safety culture, developing procedures which reduced accidents by 40%.

Tallahassee, Florida, United States

Provided management and operational oversight of day-to-day activities for regional mass transit services.Established and carried out strategic transportation plan to modernize, rebrand and decentralize transit system leading to expanded and improved service. Negotiated with local and regional government leaders and businesses to secure agreements increasing revenue streams and funding, improve economic growth programs and enhance transit standards. Collaborated with MPO, city and county planning leaders, Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Council, community groups and political leaders to create first regional multimodal district as well as the State’s inaugural MPO multimodal committee and regional mobility plan. Oversaw end-to-end lifecycle of projects such as advanced WAN Fleet Management System for vehicle and facility maintenance divisions at six agency locations, an incident and accident database, and an inventory system for mainframe parts, and sundry systems and subsystems.• Decentralized entire transit system thereby leading to 15% increase in ridership, 35% reduction in travel time and rise in on-time performance from 40% to over 85%.• Increased operating and capital funding by more than 14%.• Acquired $990K dollars in funding for purchase of three simulators and new training facility, resulting in 17% fewer accidents.• Served as chairperson of the Florida Public Transportation Association.

Washing Dc Area

As Connex’s regional executive, provided leadership and direction for the area including coordination with Fairfax County officials, Department of Transportation, and local officials to provide transit services for Fairfax County, District of Columbia, Prince George County Maryland, and the surrounding area through the Fairfax Connector closely coordinating with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s bus and rail systems. Responsibilities include budget, HR, organizational development, training, safety, security, vehicle and building maintenance, operations, union negotiations and relations

East St. Louis, Il

Began tenure as manager of paratransit operations supervising 145 union and management employees and assumed progressive responsibilities through roles as Division Director Illinois Service Area and Division Director Training & Development in which controlled entire Illinois operations and maintenance with an annual budget of $14M and created new division connecting training and organizational development, respectively.Guided operations of 33 bus lines in five counties serving over 6M customers annually and supervised staff ranging in size from 133 to 245 employees. Completed 3 light rail startups, 2 bus feeder plans, developed change and performance management initiatives, and training for metro’s 2,300 employees to ensure operational effectiveness. Investigated and resolved issues involving customer, operational, ADA, procedural and employee issues.Directed the entire Illinois Division (Operations & Maintenance) with an annual budget of 14 million dollars, managed the tripartite between Metro and 2 independent transit district board of directors to provide bus service with 260 employees and 33 bus lines in 2 Missouri and 3 Illinois counties for 6 million customers annually, managed the Illinois Division’s 287,000 square foot facility delivering service with 145 active fleet buses, a 25 bus Contingency Fleet, worked closely with the union hierarchy in negotiations, third level hearings, arbitrations etc., attained the organization’s best performance indicators in all 12 categories the last 3 years, received an “Exceptional” in final annual evaluation

Ncep Hawaii

Naval intelligence work at High Frequency Direction Finding Division and at Net Control Division. Duties classified.

Bachelor Of Science, Business, Communications, Computer Science, 3.6 Gpa - Cum Laude

Activities and Societies: Study groups, Project Leader, special projects...Completed bachelors degree with honors

23 Hours Toward Mba, Master Business Administration, 3.8 Gpa

Computer Science

Activities and Societies: Working full time in Navy while attending Roosevelt UniversityComputer Science

Finished Ba At Concordia University, Business, Psychology, Communications

Activities and Societies: Intramural sports, Iron Man Team, Campus Crusade for Christ, Lutheran Student Center, Resident Assistant, In His.

Bachelor'S Degree, Business Administration And Management, General