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TTC: Other Items (catch all)

TTC Board just finished with a unanimous vote - but they did not announce what it was!

Breaking: Bruce McGregor will be appointed as the Acting CEO of Toronto Transit Commission, effective end of day, tomorrow. He will help guide TTC while the city finalizes the appointment of an interim CEO to lead North America’s 3rd largest transit system.

Yes, I did not recognise the name so...

My source, was 100% sure it was not Bruce..............so that's curious. I'm doing some digging.

In my opinion, it's GREAT new they appointed an (almost) outsider and I bet some of the deadwood at TTC are busily updating their cvs.

Ya know, my only issue w/this.............the last time they recruited someone from York Region to the Deputy CEO role, and made him 'Acting' CEO when the last guy exited...........it was Rick Leary.

Also, York region has underfunded transit relative to the other suburban municipalities running much poorer service.
 
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TTC Board just finished with a unanimous vote - but they did not announce what it was!


Breaking: Bruce McGregor will be appointed as the Acting CEO of Toronto Transit Commission, effective end of day, tomorrow. He will help guide TTC while the city finalizes the appointment of an interim CEO to lead North America’s 3rd largest transit system.

Yes, I did not recognise the name so...

York Region CAO reflects on public service, new opportunities​


With 33 years of public service experience under his belt, Macgregor knew one does not walk away from a role as important as CAO without a good bit of planning. Macgregor said he knew the current term of York council was going to be his last. He just had to wrestle with what would be the appropriate time to leave.
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Sometimes you just know when the time is right for a change. For Bruce Macgregor, that time was at the end of June when he announced that after 16 years he would be stepping down as the CAO of the Regional Municipality of York.
Macgregor did not make this decision on a whim. He knew a while ago that 2023 was the right time to step away.
With 33 years of public service experience under his belt, Macgregor knew one does not walk away from a role as important as CAO without a good bit of planning. Macgregor said he knew the current term of York council was going to be his last. He just had to wrestle with what would be the appropriate time to leave. Given everything he has accomplished and given to the role, that part of the decision was not easy.
SEE: https://www.municipalworld.com/feature-story/york-region-cao-reflects/

In my opinion, it's GREAT new they appointed an (almost) outsider and I bet some of the deadwood at TTC are busily updating their cvs.
Bruce has been in the Deputy CEO role for coming up on a year already, so that makes the most sense short-term.
 
Bruce has been in the Deputy CEO role for coming up on a year already, so that makes the most sense short-term.

What's strange is that they are going to do 'Acting CEO', then 'interim CEO' before new CEO.

Normally those first two would be one and the same.
 
This from Star... Highlighting by me. See: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tt...cle_75c77388-6557-11ef-b1da-1735c3ba365e.html

Toronto’s transit agency has a new temporary boss.

At a closed-door meeting Wednesday, the TTC board selected Bruce Macgregor to serve as acting CEO. He will take the place of Rick Leary, who after more than six years in charge is leaving the commission at the end of this week.

Macgregor has been deputy CEO of the TTC since last October. Before that, he served for 16 years as York Region’s chief administrative officer.

At a press conference after the vote, board chair Jamaal Myers (Ward 22, Scarborough North) confirmed the appointment, which was first reported by the Star. He described Macgregor as a “first class professional” who oversaw transit and other important files in York Region, and is “well respected” at the TTC.

Macgregor is expected to be in the job for only a matter of weeks, until the board appoints an interim CEO. Myers said he expects to announce the successful candidate for the interim role by the board’s September 17 meeting.

The chair couldn’t give a firm date for when Leary’s permanent replacement will be confirmed, but said the board is conducting an international search, which typically takes at least six months.

According to Myers, appointing an acting CEO before the interim CEO was necessary because “we had an issue of timing” between Leary’s June resignation announcement and when the search committee could start interviewing candidates.

According to a document reviewed by the Star, interviews with candidates shortlisted for the interim position will be conducted Thursday.

Applicants have been told their priorities should include improving communication between senior TTC leadership and the board; better messaging to improve public perception of the agency; transforming internal culture to “reignite the excitement and pride” among staff; performance metrics; and a “deep dive” on safety culture, human resources, and the system’s state of good repair, according to the document.

Leary joined the TTC from York Region Transit in 2014. He became interim CEO in 2017, and took the job permanently the following year.

As the Star has previously reported, the board voted at a closed door meeting last October to investigate Leary for allegations of workplace misconduct, according to sources.

The chair has never formally acknowledged the existence of the investigation—which sources have told the Star was expected to cost $250,000—or disclose its status, citing confidentiality requirements around human resources issues.

On Wednesday, Myers again said it was “not appropriate” for any board member “to discuss an investigation” about an employee. But he said he would be open to suggestions made by previous chairs to explore ways to improve the process for investigating CEOs “to make sure it’s fair, accountable, and as transparent as possible.”

In an exit interview with the Star this week, Leary denied creating a toxic culture at the TTC, but said he believed cost-cutting measures he pursued for the good of the organization may have upset employees.
 
So........I've had discussion w/a few folks now...........and almost everyone is baffled by this.......

Bruce as 'Acting CEO'.

1) As Deputy CEO, its in his job description to fill-in when the CEO is away on vacation/sick etc. Why does the Commission need to meet to confirm this role?

2) The person rumoured (by people who should know) to be getting the 'interim' job is (seemingly) available now, why have an 'Acting' CEO first?

To answer the latter, according to the above, the 'interviews' are tomorrow. This is even more odd...........why not wait for the interviews to conclude before having a Commission meeting, since Bruce can 'act' as CEO as-of-right?

This is all very strange.
 
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So........I've had discussion w/a few folks now...........and almost everyone is baffled by this.......

Bruce as 'Acting CEO'.

1) As Deputy CEO, its in his job description to fill-in when the CEO is away on vacation/sick etc. Why does the Commission need to meet to confirm this role?

2) The person rumoured (by people who should know) to be getting the 'interim' job is (seemingly) available now, why have an 'Acting' CEO first?

To answer the latter, according the above, the 'interviews' are tomorrow. This is even more odd...........why not wait for the interviews to conclude before having a Commission meeting, since Bruce can 'act' as CEO as-of-right?

This is all very strange.
Is said person Adam Giambrone? He was already rumored to be the next CEO back in October 2023. So we don't have to keep him anonymous. But he might not be available if he's currently working in the middle east. So I would assume someone other than AG?

I was kinda hoping it would be a female, since over 50% of the ridership is female. The TTC had Kirsten Watson as deputy CEO. I wonder what happen to her?

Also, the interim CEO could easily transition to permanent CEO. It happened with Rick Leary.

But going through all these phases as CEO, from acting CEO, to interim CEO, to permanent CEO, is ridiculous. A total of 4 CEOs if you include Rick Leary.
 
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Is said person Adam Giambrone? He was already rumored to be the next CEO back in October 2023. So we don't have to keep him anonymous. But he might not be available if he's currently working in the middle east. So I would assume someone other than AG?

I was kinda hoping it would be a female, since over 50% of the ridership is female. The TTC had Kirsten Watson as deputy CEO. I wonder what happen to her?

Also, the interim CEO could easily transition to permanent CEO. It happened with Rick Leary.

But going through all these phases as CEO, from acting CEO, to interim CEO, to permanent CEO, is ridiculous. A total of 4 CEOs if you include Rick Leary.
Making Adam CEO should call Chow’s integrity into question. She’s already made fellow NDP supporter Myers Chair at TTC. So to make Adam, the former president of the NDP CEO would be an interesting pick and eye opening to some.
 
Does anyone actually think Adam Giambrone is qualified to run an organization with 15,000 employees?

There may be an interim pay increase involved for MacGregor that has to be approved by the Commission? Otherwise he's giving himself a pay increase.
 
Does anyone actually think Adam Giambrone is qualified to run an organization with 15,000 employees?

There may be an interim pay increase involved for MacGregor that has to be approved by the Commission? Otherwise he's giving himself a pay increase.
Adam is probably as well qualified as Rick and seems more 'personable'.

Would McGregor have had a salary increase if he was filling in for Leary if he was ill or on vacation? I doubt it as that was his job. As this is a 'short-term' interim appointment I doubt he should get one now, if he were to be appointed Acting CEO that's different.
 
Making Adam CEO should call Chow’s integrity into question. She’s already made fellow NDP supporter Myers Chair at TTC. So to make Adam, the former president of the NDP CEO would be an interesting pick and eye opening to some.
It won't be the best look. But we all know appointments are through connections and affiliations.

Look at Josh Colle. I doubt he's qualified for the position he's in now at TTC. Probably got it as some type of returned favor. So if they can bring him in, might as well bring in AG.

Personally I don't think AG is qualified, but from a political point of few, I wonder if he could use the NDP connections to get Jagmeet Singh to pressure more funding from the feds? That's definitely a stretch on my part, but I'm sure a possibility.

With the new Strong Mayor's act, can Chow not simply appoint someone as CEO. She has a transit base support politically, I'm sure she has names already.

I really hope that the TTC board is replaced , particularly the citizen board members. Even the best CEO can be handicapped by the TTC Board. Hopefully that's the next big move for TTC/Chow.
 
It won't be the best look. But we all know appointments are through connections and affiliations.

Look at Josh Colle. I doubt he's qualified for the position he's in now at TTC. Probably got it as some type of returned favor. So if they can bring him in, might as well bring in AG.

Personally I don't think AG is qualified, but from a political point of few, I wonder if he could use the NDP connections to get Jagmeet Singh to pressure more funding from the feds? That's definitely a stretch on my part, but I'm sure a possibility.

With the new Strong Mayor's act, can Chow not simply appoint someone as CEO. She has a transit base support politically, I'm sure she has names already.

I really hope that the TTC board is replaced , particularly the citizen board members. Even the best CEO can be handicapped by the TTC Board. Hopefully that's the next big move for TTC/Chow.
I'm curious about the points against Adam. While he doesn't have much transit operational experience, he does have quite a bit of experience (albeit overseas) in transportation policy and infrastructure planning and management. Considering he also works with people, it does have transferrable skills to C-suite executive roles.
 
I'm curious about the points against Adam. While he doesn't have much transit operational experience, he does have quite a bit of experience (albeit overseas) in transportation policy and infrastructure planning and management. Considering he also works with people, it does have transferrable skills to C-suite executive roles.
I agree that the CEO does not need to know how to drive a bus or repair a broken rail and it is someone with managerial, people picking and supporting them and political skills that we need. AG may be pretty appropriate.
 
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