NEW MTA PRESIDENT

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast announced the January 31 retirement of MTA Metro-North Railroad President Howard Permut and the appointment of Joseph J. Giulietti as his successor. Permut has been a senior Metro-North executive since he helped found the railroad in 1983 and has served as president for more than five years, overseeing the railroad’s expansion of service and ridership. Giulietti has served as executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority for more than 14 years, and previously was a Metro-North executive for 15 years starting at the railroad’s inception. The departing Permut began his MTA career in 1979 and was one of 10 people chosen to help form Metro-North from former Conrail commuter lines in 1983. He was named president in 2008.

“I am pleased to welcome Joe Giulietti back to Metro-North, where he will take the reins at a critical moment. Joe began his railroad career as a brakeman and assistant conductor on the Penn Central Railroad, and has honed his operational and leadership skills through positions of increasing responsibility. I am confident Joe will quickly focus on enhancing Metro-North’s strong operational standards and safety practices, while continuing to develop the railroad’s future as a critical link in the region’s transportation system and economy,” Prendergast said.