DCTA CEO Raymond Suarez to step down end of March

Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) CEO Raymond Suarez’s resignation was unanimously accepted by the board of directors, with Suarez ending his position at DCTA March 31, 2022.  

Suarez joined DCTA as the chief operating officer in 2014 and became CEO in September 2018. Immediately after being appointed, he led the agency through the legislative reconstitution of the board of directors and led the agency through a transformation initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic to better respond to market changes.  

He was also instrumental in unifying relationships with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Metro, thereby creating joint efforts in many areas that serve the three North Texas agencies. Most recently he worked with DART to forge an agreement to construct a joint rail facility to support the DCTA A-train and DART Silver Line operations and launched new GoZone on-demand mobility services throughout DCTA’s three member cities. 

In a statement Suarez said, “I am very thankful to the board of directors and staff for the constant support and I’m proud of the culture we have created based on servant leadership principles. It is very rewarding to see ridership growing to pre-pandemic levels so quickly after launching the system wide GoZone program. Through this transformation journey, the agency is now more accessible, responsive, and resilient and able to respond to the communities we serve and that’s a great feeling of accomplishment." 

The DCTA Board has unanimously appointed Paul Cristina, deputy CEO, as interim CEO. The board plans to discuss launching a search for Suarez’s replacement at the March 24 regularly scheduled meeting.