Jim Hartnett Named Most Admired CEO

 

Jim Hartnett, General Manager/CEO of the San Mateo County Transit District, has been named one of San Francisco Business Times’ Most Admired CEOs. The award recognizes outstanding CEOs for their leadership, vision and values.

Hartnett’s fellow honorees include CEO’s from the Oakland Athletics, the University of California San Francisco, and Blue Shield. Past honorees include chief executives from some of the Bay Area’s leading organizations, including Levi Strauss & Co, Kaiser Permanente, the Golden State Warriors, Williams-Sonoma, and the San Francisco Giants.

As General Manager/CEO of the District, Hartnett is responsible for transportation and mobility services that the Peninsula depends on to fuel economic competitiveness and provide commute alternatives that reduce traffic and serve the most vulnerable members of our communities. In this role, he oversees the management and operation of both the Caltrain commuter rail service and the SamTrans fixed route bus and paratransit services, and also manages the administration of approximately $180 million/year in voter approved sales taxes for multi modal transportation improvements in San Mateo County.

“Our region is very fortunate to have Jim working on behalf of our communities to manage and improve the services that so many of us depend on”, said Carole Groom who chairs the District’s Board of Directors and also serves as President of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. “Under his leadership, we are making great strides toward securing a better transportation future of the Peninsula at a time when we need it most.”

Since being named CEO of the District in 2015, Hartnett’s leadership has helped implement transformative improvements and achievements including:

  • Securing over $2 billion in local, state, regional and federal funds to prepare the Caltrain corridor for expanded service and the operation of new, high-performance electric trains.
  • The creation of a Caltrain Business Plan that calls for implementation of a 2040 Service Vision that would increase service throughout the corridor and triple ridership, putting the equivalent of 5.5 lanes of traffic on Caltrain instead of our highways.
  • The approval of San Mateo County’s Measure W in 2018, which provides approximately $90 million/year for enhanced local and regional transit services, bike and pedestrian improvements, and solutions that address traffic congestion on regional highways and local streets and roads.
  • The launch of popular new express bus service connecting San Francisco and Mateo County communities and job centers that has taken hundreds of commuters out of their cars since it launched in August 2019.
  • An historic private sector partnership with Cross Bay Transit Partners to explore creating a new rail transit connection between the Peninsula and the East Bay along the Dumbarton Rail Corridor.

“I am humbled to receive this recognition,” said Hartnett. “It is a direct reflection of the extraordinary work and talent of our Executive Team and all of the staff at the District. I am very proud to accept this award on behalf of the entire organization.”

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About Caltrain: Owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, Caltrain provides commuter rail service from San Francisco to San Jose, with limited commute service to Gilroy. While the Joint Powers Board assumed operating responsibilities for the service in 1992, the railroad celebrated 150 years of continuous passenger service in 2014. Planning for the next 150 years of Peninsula rail service, Caltrain is on pace to electrify the corridor, reduce diesel emissions by 97 percent by 2040 and add more service to more stations.

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