Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Chair Eric Garcetti last week announced the appointment by the Metro Board of Phillip Washington as the organization’s next CEO.

“Phil Washington is the ideal person to manage our $36 billion transportation infrastructure program to ease congestion, cut smog and boost our economy for decades to come,” Garcetti said. “Phil Washington’s track record of maximizing project efficiency, securing much-needed funding and increasing customer service will well-serve Metro riders and taxpayers.”

Washington comes to Metro from Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) where he was unanimously selected as RTD’s CEO in December 2009 after serving as interim CEO for 6 months and the assistant general manager for nearly 10 years.

In Denver, Washington was implementing the FasTracks program, one of the largest voter-approved transit expansion programs in the country. He was responsible for a total agency budget appropriation of $2.8 billion and managed more than $5 billion in active transit expansion projects. Under his management, RTD’s West Line Rail was completed eight months early and under budget, and the award-winning Denver Union Station was completed five months ahead of schedule.

In 2012, Washington’s emphasis on safety training led to a 40 percent decrease in preventable bus accidents, and he has achieved an on time bus and rail rate of 90 percent and a 96 percent on time performance, officials said. Originally from the south side of Chicago, Washington is a 24-year veteran of the United States Army where he held the rank of Command Sergeant Major. Washington holds a B.A. in business administration from Columbia College and an M.A. in management from Webster University.