Elliot "Lee" Sander is a transport executive who was CEO of the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...

for over two years from 2007-09.

Career

In January 2007, Sander was appointed by New York Governor

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was also ...

as Executive Director and CEO of the

(MTA), which operates New York's subway,

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

, and bridge and tunnel network. The MTA also operates the commuter rail system for both New York and Connecticut. His administration faced two service interruptions in July and August 2007 caused by torrential rains, including the storm associated with the 2007 Brooklyn tornado. His subsequent work to improve the MTA's emergency preparedness and on climate change has been credited with creating the framework for the MTA's highly successful recovery from

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...

, which devastated other transit properties. He also implemented two rounds of fare and toll increases in 2008 and 2009, due to the MTA's weakened finances. Sander tendered his resignation to Governor

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer, who resigned, and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to ...

on Thursday, May 7, 2009, saying he was resigning to give Paterson the chance to take the authority in "a different direction". Sander served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation under Mayor

Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...

from 1994 to 1996, where he was credited with improving the agency's performance, including eliminating graffiti and debris from the City's highways and bridges, and completing the reconstruction of Columbus Avenue in record time, while reducing the agency's budget by 20%. After leaving full-time public service, Mayor Giuliani and then Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Sander to serve as a Commissioner on the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (1997 to 2006). Sander was President and Chief Executive Officer of the HAKS Group, an architectural and engineering firm specializing in water, wastewater, transportation, and buildings, from November 2011 until January 2015. Prior to that, Sander served as Group Chief Executive, Global Transportation for

Aecom AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...

, from August 2009 to November 2011. He also was Senior Vice President for Aecom from June 1996 to December 2006. Previously, he was Managing Director, Global Transportation and US Infrastructure at

Hatch Ltd Hatch is a global multidisciplinary management, engineering and development consultancy. Its group companies have more than 10,000 staff in 70+ offices. In 2015, Hatch was ranked as a top 20 International Design Firm according to the Engineerin ...

. He is also the Senior Independent Director of the board of

Mobico Group Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express Coac ...

. Sander is Chairman Emeritus of the

Regional Plan Association The Regional Plan Association is an independent, not-for-profit regional planning organization, founded in 1922, that focuses on recommendations to improve the quality of life and economic competitiveness of a 31-county New York (state), New Yo ...

, Vice-Chairman of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, and on the Board of the

Leo Baeck Institute The Leo Baeck Institute, established in 1955, is an international research institute with centres in New York City, London, Jerusalem and Berlin, that are devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. The institute was ...

. Sander is the founder of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management and Management at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He also co-founded the Empire State Transportation Alliance (ESTA). From 2018 until 2021 he was president of

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...

's American operations.Sander gives Bombardier new traction
''

Railway Age ''Railway Age'' is an American trade magazine for the rail transport industry. It was founded in 1856 in Chicago (the United States' major railroad hub) and is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. History The magazine ...

'' October 29, 2018 He departed after Bombardier was taken over by

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sander, Elliot Living people Commissioners in New York City Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Executives of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Year of birth missing (living people)