David Braun has been appointed by the board of trustees to be the new general manager of Connect Transit.
The selection of Braun represents the culmination of a several month national search to hire a replacement for Isaac Thorne, who resigned the position in August of 2020 to take a similar job in Knoxville, Tenn.
Former Normal, Ill., City Manager Mark Peterson has been serving as the interim general manager since last November and will stay on until Braun starts work on Aug. 9, 2021.
As the general manager of Connect Transit, Braun will essentially serve as the CEO of the organization and will direct all day-to-day activities of the transit system and is responsible for the oversight of the system’s $15-million operating budget and its 140 employees. He will report to the seven-member board of trustees that are appointed by the City Councils of Bloomington and Normal (Bloomington has four appointees and Normal has three appointees).
Commenting on Braun’s selection, Connect Transit Board Chairman Ryan Whitehouse said, “We feel very fortunate to have been able to attract a candidate as experienced and accomplished as is David Braun. The members of the board of trustees are confident that Mr. Braun will find ways to make our already outstanding transit system even better.”
Braun has more than 25 years of experience in the public transit industry. He most recently served as director of transit operations for Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to that he was the vice president of business development for Transdev North America. Before joining Transdev in 2013, Braun served as vice president of paratransit services for American Logistics, a national passenger transportation management company. Prior to that, he spent 22 years at First Transit, serving in various senior management roles at multiple locations, including CityLink in Peoria, Ill., where he served as both the assistant general manager and the general manager from 1996 to 2002.
In accepting the offer to become the new general manager of Connect Transit, Braun said, "I look forward to serving the Bloomington and Normal communities and building upon the great work Connect Transit's staff and board have done to make public transit safe, reliable, accessible, sustainable and a great transportation choice for the residents of the area."
Braun holds a Bachelor of Science in Public and Environmental Affairs from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Bradley University.
