METRO’s People Movement highlights the latest leadership appointments, promotions, and personnel changes across the public transit, motorcoach, and mobility industries.

In this edition, we also spotlight recent personnel moves at Burns, UZURV, and more, highlighting the people taking on new roles across the transportation industry.

Connectpoint Expands Executive Leadership Team

Connectpoint announced an expanded executive leadership structure designed to fuel the company’s continued growth, strengthen customer success, expand its presence across the public transportation industry, and pursue new market opportunities.

Rick Wood, Connectpoint’s founder and former CEO, will transition to the role of Strategic Advisor. Patton Gregg has been promoted to President/CEO. Brian Beynon has been promoted to Vice President of Field Operations and Customer Success. Stefan Marks, AICP, has been promoted to Vice President of Sales, and Rahul Kumar will lead business development efforts.

The expanded leadership structure brings together extensive expertise in business operations, public transportation, technology, sales, and customer delivery. It will enable Connectpoint to strengthen support for existing customers while pursuing new opportunities for its digital signage and passenger information solutions across the public transportation industry and in new businesses and markets, officials said.

As president and CEO, Gregg will lead Connectpoint’s overall business strategy and operations, including product innovation, organizational development, operational execution and the pursuit of new market opportunities. Since joining Connectpoint, Gregg has worked across the organization to improve operational alignment, strengthen execution and support the company’s growing customer base. His background in engineering, supply-chain management and business operations enables him to bridge complex technical requirements with practical business strategies and customer-focused execution.

Burns Engineering Names Andrew Liu Chief Growth Officer

Burns named Andrew Liu as its Chief Growth Officer.

Liu is a growth and business leader who has over two decades of experience driving strategic growth, market expansion, and operational performance across transportation, infrastructure, and technology-focused organizations. From multinational consulting firms to startups, he delivers value and innovation to clients.

In his executive role at Burns, Liu will use his expertise to help the firm align and scale market strategy, client development, and internal growth operations as it continues to expand its nationwide impact in the transit sector.

Burns created the chief growth officer position to accelerate and scale growth across all markets.

Stadler appoints a new Group CEO

Stadler’s board appointed Philipp Brunner as its new Group CEO, effective January 1, 2027.

Brunner currently heads the Central Europe and Germany divisions and will succeed Markus Bernsteiner, who has led the Stadler Group’s operations since 2023.

Brunner is a highly experienced and successful CEO of the Central Europe division and, since January 2026, has also been acting CEO of the Germany division. He has been with Stadler for over 16 years. He has in-depth knowledge of the rail vehicle manufacturing process, the global supply industry, and the markets in Europe, Asia and North Africa.

Brunner will take up his post as the new Group CEO on 1 January 2027. Succession planning for the leadership of the Central Europe and Germany divisions is well advanced. The company will announce the new division heads at a later date.

San Joaquin RTD Brings Extensive Safety Expert Onboard

Stockton, California’s San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) announced that Harlow Church has joined the District, bringing more than 17 years of experience in transit operations, system safety, fire life safety, emergency management, and regulatory compliance.

Church joins RTD after an extensive career with Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), where he most recently served as Fire Life Safety Program Administrator. In that role, he developed and managed fire prevention and first responder programs, including fire department familiarization and training involving transit facilities and equipment.

He also worked closely with BART Police and System Safety in support of the agency’s emergency management program. His responsibilities included developing and directing tabletop and full-scale emergency exercises and supporting Emergency Operations Center planning and activations for major events, including the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup.

Previously, Church served in BART’s System Safety Department as Principal Operations Safety Specialist, where he led accident and incident investigations, conducted operational safety reviews and audits, identified hazards, developed corrective actions, and worked with internal stakeholders to address safety deficiencies. His experience also includes developing BART’s right-of-way encampment risk assessment program.

UZURV Names New CFO

UZURV, the Assisted Mobility Technology Platform and Assisted Mobility Transportation Network Company, named Leo Basola as its CFO.

Basola’s strategic financing expertise will accelerate UZURV’s growth as it meets increasing market demand. He is a seasoned global finance executive with 25 years of experience driving profitable growth, capital planning, and building high-performing teams across the technology, industrial, and financial sectors.

Basola brings a proven track record of strategic financial leadership and operational excellence from top multinational organizations, including Equifax, Danaher, and General Electric. Most recently, he served as the CFO for Spire Global, a global provider of space-based data, analytics, and space services.