The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority board of directors interviewed three finalists on Aug. 10 for the job of general manager and CEO and expects to name a permanent leader at its regular board meeting on Aug. 13.
The interviews capped a national search to find a permanent successor at one of the largest public transit systems in the country, according to a release from the company. Jonathan Hunt, who is one of the finalists, has served as interim general manager and CEO since August 2025.
“Choosing MARTA’s next GM/CEO is one of the most consequential decisions this board will make, and the region deserves a rigorous process,” said Jennifer Ide, chair of the MARTA board, who is leading the search. “I’m proud of the national search we ran and of the caliber of the three finalists it produced.”
MARTA hired Diversified Search Group, a national executive search firm, to run the search after a competitive selection process. The search spanned the transportation sector, including public transit agencies at the federal and state levels, airports and airlines, freight and passenger railroads, port authorities and logistics companies. Diversified Search Group contacted more than 250 candidates, the release said.
The finalists
Cleveland Ferguson III is executive vice president and chief administrative officer of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, a post he has held since 2023.
He joined the authority in 2015 as senior vice president and chief administrative officer and now oversees administrative operations, strategic planning and economic development, including public-private partnerships and transit-oriented development.
Hunt has been MARTA’s interim general manager and CEO since August 2025. He joined MARTA in 2014 and spent more than a decade in its legal department, holding the titles of chief of corporate law and real estate, deputy chief counsel, and chief legal counsel before being named interim GM/CEO.
He was previously a senior assistant city attorney for Atlanta, handling aviation matters for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; practiced law at Dentons and Baker & Hostetler; and worked as a project engineer for Gilbane Building Co.
Leroy Jones is executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, a role he took on in 2025.
In more than 26 years at the authority, he rose from an entry-level track laborer through operations and maintenance jobs, including superintendent of track maintenance and vice president, then senior vice president of bus services, and chief transportation officer, before being named chief operating officer.
MARTA challenges
MARTA has faced significant challenges in the past few years, with incidents of violence reported on and around the stations. So far in 2026, there have been six violent attacks at MARTA stations or aboard trains, two of them resulting in fatalities.
In early June, a 66-year-old woman was randomly stabbed to death by a man on a train headed to Oakland City station. The violence prompted U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy to order an investigation by the Federal Transit Administration in early June.
In addition, a new fleet of MARTA rail cars, expected to be operational by the time Atlanta held eight FIFA World Cup matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium from June 15 to July 15, has yet to be installed.
However, after the World Cup, MARTA officials announced that the system moved 4.7 million riders during the 35 days of events in metro Atlanta, with no major crimes reported.
Three suspects in prior violent incidents, however, were apprehended during that time frame, the agency said, as hundreds of MARTA officers worked nearly around the clock, with help from transit police from Denver and other jurisdictions.
Six hundred MARTA ambassadors and 100 multilingual FIFA volunteers also pitched in, as the agency gave directions, water, sunscreen and first aid to fans.
