- One word to describe yourself: Authentic
- Alma Mater: Wilfrid Laurier University
- Favorite book “Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Favorite TV show: "Madam Secretary" - "Who can resist a strong female lead driving change in the public sector?"
- Favorite movie: "Die Hard"
- Favorite hobby: Cycling
- Fun fact about yourself: "In 2005, I traveled over 30,000 km over five weeks to discover some of North America’s hidden gems — from Toronto to Vancouver, down to the Grand Canyon, up and over to Newfoundland, and back to Toronto."
- Favorite station or stop that you have ever visited or frequent (and why): "I don’t know if it's my favorite, because I admire so many stations and stops around the world, but I recently had the chance to visit the Sao Bento railway station in Porto, Portugal. The first train arrived at this station in 1896, but a significant renovation happened in 1992. The renovation maintained the classic architecture and art - 20,000 typical Portuguese ‘azulejos’ (tiles) depict a chronology of transport in the region, historical events and scenes from the areas. All this remains, but the station has all the modern amenities, fantastic customer service options, and functions efficiently despite a steady throng of tourists."
After joining Accenture shortly after graduating university, Laura Fini began her career in the public-sector practice serving the Ontario Public Service and Federal Government. In her next five years on the job, she worked in fields ranging from United States and Canadian telecommunications to retail. However, it was a particularly challenging transit assignment in 2010 that would seize her intellectual curiosity and ignite her passion for public transportation: PRESTO.
PRESTO, a project launched by the Metrolinx agency, is the automated fare collection system offering seamless travel across the province of Ontario, including the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and the Ottawa region. All told, the project would roll out a single payment source — the PRESTO card — in 11 separate transit systems representing an annual ridership of more than 826 million, each with its own fare structure and unique PRESTO terms.
Achievement of position In her eight years working on the PRESTO project, Fini has been responsible for leading and executing a number of initiatives, which have extended capabilities that now serve nearly four million PRESTO customers. She directed global teams of up to 300+ resources worldwide (subcontractors, Accenture, Metrolinx, transit agencies), driving a One Team mindset to bring multiple organizations together to achieve the project’s impressive objectives. This mindset allowed our teams to collectively tackle the hardest challenges that are inevitably part of innovative and complex programs.
All those roles led to two signature accomplishments. First, as delivery lead for software releases, Fini was accountable for three large-scale, multi-stakeholder system migrations to PRESTO. A result of her executive leadership led to her team delivering new equipment and embedded software for over 10,000 employee and customer devices. In addition, over two million customers were migrated with 99.99 percent accuracy to a new infrastructure that allows PRESTO to scale up to support billions of transactions (1.3B in 2016). Next, she oversaw the rollout of the PRESTO payment system on subways, buses, streetcars and paratransit vehicles throughout the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) system. As the fourth-largest transit system in North America, roll out of a new payment system was a complex effort involving coordination of equipment delivery, enhancements and operational readiness on the ground.
Fini’s vision and executive leadership skillset led to more than 5,000 next-generation devices being built and installed that tailor to the needs of the TTC. As a result, there have been more than 12 million transit users boarding the TTC using PRESTO (as of April 2018).
Continuing with her streak of high-value delivery, Fini now works to improve Metrolinx operations and capital delivery by designing and implementing a comprehensive enterprise asset management (EAM) program at Metrolinx. As a member of the project’s executive committee, she is responsible for providing strategic direction for the changing operating model, project delivery, risk management and achievement of the business case.
Asset management is currently undergoing a revolution as newer, more connected technologies and systems provide increased capabilities for managing and operating a modern, mass transit system. The industry is seeing the evolution of new EAM models for transit that are tailored from leading asset-intensive industries. However, Fini’s new project takes EAM rollout a bit further
Unlike most EAM programs, the Metrolinx project will cover all asset types, including bus and rail fleets, guideways and rail corridors, maintenance facilities, stations, revenue collection and Information Technology/Operational Technology (IT/OT) assets. The project aims to improve safety, asset reliability, operational efficiency, and decision making — all in a period of anticipated asset growth from $20 billion to $60 billion. Fini recognizes the program will introduce a new culture and way of working to Metrolinx, providing them with strategies, tools and organizational change.
Fini’s long-term commitment with a single client is atypical for her, but rather stems from the connection of her professional life and personal values. As a daily transit rider, she understands that seemingly minor inefficiencies on paper have real-world effects on riders’ daily lives. An outdated EAM plan isn’t just a business problem. An outdated EAM plan means train delays, missed appointments and a generally poor customer experience
That understanding helps her confront the challenges of the job with empathy and more passion to support her work. Laura sees patterns where others see complexity, bringing a unique perspective to the strategic challenges and opportunities of her projects. She focuses on the outcomes and brings the right people together to identify the right solution.
"My consulting work in this industry affords me the chance to see, feel and use what I’ve built. I get direct feedback from transit users in my personal and professional network which I can bring back to my work to continue making a relevant impact on our community. Also, with the significant transit service and infrastructure growth in Canada, we continue to see an influx of experiences and ideas coming into the country. There is no shortage of opportunity to learn and grow from this diversity."
"The transit industry is always busy working on a high volume of projects, initiatives and embracing growth. Keeping aligned across the industry and organization requires close collaboration and a very disciplined dependency management to succeed."
"It was a great day when we launched PRESTO on our client’s new, integrated faregates at Main Station on the TTC, which they had recently procured and installed through a third party vendor. It was particularly challenging as we had to adapt the faregate to accept both old and new forms of payment to serve during the transition period, and the embedded PRESTO software needed to work seamlessly with the faregates internal systems. I arrived that morning at 5 a.m. before the station opened, and watched the first handful of customers approach and use the gates. There was a lot of delight and kudos that morning and it felt great to see our hard work in action. This was a meaningful first step on a journey to replace old mechanical turnstiles throughout the system and bring convenient, reliable, and modern upgrades for transit users."
"There are a vast number of opportunities to bring new ideas and technology into the transit industry, in order to leapfrog ahead and quickly achieve business objectives. It requires an element of risk to recommend and move forward with innovation. The 'new' can be immensely challenging to obtain the right buy-in to proceed. Persistence, a strong business case, and the right advocates and supports can make all the difference."
"I have been a transit rider my whole life, and I recognize the value it can bring to the lives of the community. As we face our travel challenges in this Toronto region associated with high growth, I jumped at the opportunity to have an impact on revitalizing and uniting transit offerings for current and future riders. Ultimately, my experiences in helping Canadian organizations and governments advance towards high performance gave me the opportunity to first contribute at Metrolinx over eight years ago — I have been hooked ever since."
