Transdev CEO Mark Joseph, announced that Ken Westbrook has added responsibility for the company’s rail division to his current responsibilities as chairman of its transit division. His promotion to president of the rail division is effective Jan. 1.
Westbrook will be responsible for the rail division’s businesses, which include operations and maintenance contracts at Tri-Rail in South Florida under contract to the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority and Sprinter in North San Diego under contract to the North County Transit District. He will also oversee Transdev’s rapidly growing VTMI Division which constructs and maintains rail track and infrastructure for numerous transit and rail agencies and other clients across the U.S. He succeeds Ron Hartman, who is leaving Transdev after 16 years to accept a position with Network Rail.
Westbrook will continue to serve as chairman of Transdev’s Transit Division, which operates over 200 bus, paratransit, and bus rapid transit (BRT) contracts with city and county transit authorities, universities and airports across the U.S and in English-speaking Canada.
In making the announcement, Joseph said, “Ken has vast experience and knowledge in a diverse array of transit operating environments . I am pleased that he will bring his skills and leadership to help us continue our strong performance in our rail business activities.”
Westbrook has a distinguished career in transit operations. Early in his career, he was general manager for several transit contracts as part of ATC, a private-sector operator of transit contracts. In 1999, he was promoted to regional vice president for ATC. Trandev’s predecessor company, Veolia Transportation, acquired ATC in 2005 and in 2007 he was promoted to senior vice president of Veolia Transportation for the eastern region of the United States. In 2010, he was promoted to president and COO the transit division, and in 2014 became its chairman.
