Still without a new CEO, SouthWest Transit widens search

Two job-search finalists have said “no” to serving as chief executive officer of SouthWest Transit, but the local agency is confident it will have a new leader about mid-2023 or shortly thereafter.

That’s because the SouthWest Transit Commission, its governing body, has decided to cast a wider net for CEO candidates, going beyond the transit industry to public-sector leadership overall.

The commission agreed Jan. 26 to get help from Baker Tilly US, a national firm with an office in St. Paul, for an amount not to exceed $26,500. It’s the second search firm the commission has used since former CEO Len Simich departed at the end of March 2022. Two finalists identified last year by the search firm KL2 Connects declined the job during negotiations on work agreements.

The commission has also reconfigured its CEO Search Committee, according to Matt Fyten, SouthWest Transit’s chief operating officer and interim CEO. PG Narayanan will represent the City of Eden Prairie on the panel. He is a city council member and vice-chair of the commission.

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Narayanan said Baker Tilly’s record of locating and recruiting people for public-sector positions – including positions in public transit – is impressive.

“I believe they can find good candidates,” he said. “My hope is we’ll be done in six months.”

Narayanan said a closer look at the existing staff at SouthWest Transit led the commission to conclude that it already has people on board who know transit well, and that what’s needed most from its new CEO is higher-level leadership and management. That led to the decision to widen the pool of candidates to the public sector overall.

“What we really need is an overall general manager who also works closely with the Legislature, the Metro Council, and of course the commission,” he added.

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Simich had served as SouthWest Transit’s CEO since 1997. He informed the commission of his retirement plans in 2021, and the agency subsequently hired KL2 Connects to begin the nationwide search for a replacement.

Simich continues to serve in a limited capacity, most recently as SouthWest Transit’s representative, in efforts to bring commercial development to the SouthWest Village transit station in Chanhassen.

SouthWest Transit was created when the suburbs of Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, and Chaska decided in 1986 to opt out of the Metropolitan Transit Commission, as allowed by state law, and create their own transit system under a joint powers agreement. Carver has since been added to the group.

Headquartered in Eden Prairie, the agency’s services include transportation to downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, as well as the popular on-demand ride service known as SW Prime. It has a bus fleet of 92 vehicles and a 2023 budget of $16 million.