VIA Metropolitan Transit adds John Clamp as CAO, Rod Sanchez as SVP of planning and development

VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio, Texas, has appointed John G. Clamp as chief administration officer (CAO) and Rod J. Sanchez, AICP, as senior vice president of planning and development. 

Clamp 

Clamp has been named the agency's first CAO to help support and direct VIA’s fiscal, procurement, technology/innovation and human resources divisions. 

Clamp is a San Antonio, Texas, native and graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas A&M University. He brings more than 36 years of extensive experience in the non-profit, public service and corporate sectors. 

As CAO, Clamp will oversee short- and long-term operational impacts of four divisions while also managing VIA resources and capital assets. 

Prior to joining VIA, Clamp served as senior vice president of finance and administration at The DoSeum, chief financial officer for the Alamo Area Council of Governments, executive director of the San Antonio Hotel and Lodging Association, District 10 City Council member, president and COO of Landmark Companies. He also held several leadership positions at USAA. 

“Mr. Clamp is a strategic leader with a trajectory of valuable experience in financial management, government relations operations and public service that will be foundational to success as he builds out this new position,” said VIA President and CEO Jeffrey C. Arndt. 

Clamp is active in various professional organizations, including the Texas and local Society of Certified Public Accountants and the national, state and local Associations of Realtors. In addition, he served from April 2013 to March 2016 as chairman of the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority, an independent governmental agency created by the Texas Transportation Commission and the Bexar County Commissioners Court in 2003 to accelerate construction of needed transportation projects in Bexar County. 

He is a certified public accountant, a licensed real estate broker and currently serves as vice president of the District 10 Neighborhood Alliance. 

Sanchez 

As senior vice president of planning and development, Sanchez will oversee and direct all aspects of VIA’s planning and capital expansion program, including high-capacity transit projects and other capital investments, such as the Advanced Rapid Transit (A.R.T.) Green and Silver Lines that are part of the Keep San Antonio Moving plan approved by San Antonio voters in 2020. 

Also, a San Antonio native, Sanchez graduated from St. Mary’s University and Trinity University with extensive experience in the public sector. Sanchez brings more than three decades of experience to VIA. 

Prior to joining VIA, Sanchez served as assistant city manager for the city of San Antonio, a position he held since February 2017. There, he oversaw more than 1,700 employees and managed an annual operating budget of $830 million. Sanchez’s role included oversight of the city’s development services, public works, building and equipment services, planning and transportation departments. Prior to being appointed assistant city manager, he served as the building official for the city of San Antonio and director of the development services department. 

“Rod brings a broad base of knowledge and proven expertise to VIA, where he will oversee our transit service and strategic planning, real estate and engineering, construction and development departments,” Arndt said. “He is an effective and innovative leader with a proven record of strategic planning, service planning and capital construction experience.” 

Sanchez is active in various professional and community organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Planners, American Planning Association, International Code Council, Certified Building Official and St. Mary’s Alumni Association.