Keolis North America and Cincinnati Metro announced changes to their respective leadership teams.
Keolis North America appoints four to leadership positions
Fadi Chakbazof has joined Keolis North America as president and COO for U.S. transit, and Ryan Adams has been appointed to a newly created chief performance officer role. Keolis North America notes both Adams and Chakbazof will report directly to Brad Thomas, regional president and CEO, and will sit on the Keolis North America executive committee.
According to Keolis North America, Chakbazof has a strong track record of driving strategic growth, improving customer service and fostering a culture of trust and safety. He brings 25 years of industry experience, having held executive roles at MV Transportation, First Transit and First Student. He oversaw a $500 million operations portfolio, led more than 5,000 employees and managed 60 contracts.
Adams most recently served as the executive vice president of market development and innovation for Keolis in North America. During Adams’ leadership of the business development function, Keolis grew the size of the U.S. transit portfolio from $128.5 million in annual revenue to $560 million, a 336 percent increase. Adams has been with Keolis since 2013 and has held business development and operational leadership roles. He also implemented business intelligence systems designed to deliver actionable insights into the company’s operating performance and to facilitate continuous improvement in safety, maintenance and operational efficiency.
Keolis also announced that Sandi Hill will assume a new role leading business development for U.S. transit, reporting to Chakbazof. Keolis has also appointed Francis Julien into an expanded role, providing strategic operational leadership to all contracts in Keolis’ U.S. transit portfolio as the vice president of operations. This position will report to the president and COO for U.S. transit.
Most recently, Julien served as the regional vice president for the eastern region. He has held several positions at Keolis, including vice president of commercial development, general manager and regional vice president of operations and assistant director of operations. He also served as the deputy CEO for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.
“Fadi has a reputation as an effective operations leader with a focus on safety performance, customer satisfaction and strong stakeholder relations. His innovative approach to operations will help Keolis deliver on our growth ambitions and build an even stronger foundation with our clients.” Thomas said. “Ryan’s new role as chief performance officer will add significant value to our local management teams and our clients. His reputation as a data-driven leader with an unmatched understanding of how key data inputs can create strategic value for our stakeholders is an exciting evolution for Keolis.”
Cincinnati Metro promotes Khaled Shammout to deputy innovation and vision officer
Cincinnati Metro has promoted Khaled Shammout to deputy innovation and vision officer. Shammout will continue to oversee strategic planning, transit network planning and scheduling, transit infrastructure fund program, right-of-way and transit centers design and construction.
He has more than 30 years of transit experience in the public and private sectors – both nationally and internationally – and has been instrumental in the implementation of the agency’s Reinventing Metro service improvement plan, which launched in 2021.
Shammout’s experience includes transit planning, advanced data collection and analysis techniques, short-term and long-term public transit studies, the development and implementation of intelligent transportation systems technologies , transit facility design and project management. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a bachelor’s in architecture, master’s in city planning and a master’s in transportation engineering.
Shammout has also been appointed to the Transit Research Analysis Committee, which advises the Federal Transit Administration on transit research related matters. He is also the author of “The Implosion of Public Transit and the Case for an Infinite Game” and is an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati.
Brandon Lewis | Associate Editor
Brandon Lewis is a recent graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lewis is a former freelance editorial assistant at Vehicle Service Pros in Endeavor Business Media’s Vehicle Repair Group. Lewis brings his knowledge of web managing, copyediting and SEO practices to Mass Transit Magazine as an associate editor. He is also a co-host of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast.
