New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) named Anthony McCord as its chief transformation officer as the authority undergoes a historic reorganization to improve service and modernize all aspects of operations for the first time in half a century.

McCord is a senior executive with over 25 years of experience in industrial services and infrastructure roles around the world, focusing on transformation and change management. He is expected to start in mid-December and will report to the MTA’s board.

McCord most recently worked at Veolia, an international service industry company, as the site director at the University of Montreal Health Centre, one of North America’s largest healthcare public-private partnerships where Veolia is the service provider for the 3.5 million-square-foot hospital and energy plant complex.

He will bring his significant leadership experience as a change-driver to guide the MTA’s Transformation Plan.

To drive the transformation, the MTA will require a selection of new leadership roles and capabilities including a COO, chief accessibility officer, chief people officer, director of research and development, chief procurement officer, director of quality assurance, and chief technology officer.

The MTA Transformation Plan was mandated by New York State legislation passed this year to enact reforms to end waste, fraud and abuse. The plan is based on recommendations by a third-party expert, AlixPartners, to identify needed changes to leadership, business activities and processes, and cost-cutting opportunities.