Metrolinx announces two senior execs, including head of Presto program, leaving company,

Head of Presto stepping away to pursue job in consulting

Big changes are underway in Metrolinx’s leadership ranks.

In the space of three days this week, Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, informed employees of the departure of two members of its 10-person senior management team, including the executive vicepresident responsible for the contentious Presto fare card program.

The agency announced Wednesday that Robert Hollis, in charge of Pres- to since 2012, is leaving at the end of February. In an email to employees, Metrolinx president and CEO Phil Verster said that “after much thought” Hollis had “decided to step away” to pursue an unspecified job in consulting.

Anita Sultmanis, who had been the agency’s chief customer and marketing officer for less than a year, has already left the agency. In an email to employees Monday, Verster said Sultmanis, who was hired last March, was “no longer with Metrolinx,” effective immediately.

Citing privacy, a spokesperson for the agency said, “I can only confirm that Anita Sultmanis . . . no longer works with Metrolinx.”

She said Hollis “has decided to step away and take on new challenges.”

She said she couldn’t speculate about whether more personnel changes were coming. Reached by phone Wednesday, Sultmanis declined to comment.

In a phone interview, Hollis said his departure “was 100-per-cent my decision.” He said he had been thinking of leaving for months, and after completing initiatives such as equipping the new Spadina subway extension with Presto and hammering out an agreement for discounted fares for transfers between the TTC and GO Transit, he felt the time was right.

“I made my decision and I really want to move to something new, but I will always feel affectionate . . . about Metrolinx,” he said.

“I feel I’m leaving the place in a better shape than when I got there . . . We’ve gone through the rough spots and we’re just trying to get to the finish line.”

Metrolinx is installing interim replacements for both positions while it searches for permanent replacements.

In his internal email, Verster praised Hollis for delivering on “key milestones” for the Presto system, such as the “successful rollout” of Ottawa’s OC Transpo, the renegotiation of fare card contracts with participating municipalities and the “start-up and evolution” of the pro- gram’s deployment on the TTC.

The installation of Presto on the TTC, not yet complete, has been criticized because of technical problems. Metrolinx has said the issues are growing pains and are being addressed.

The changes at Metrolinx come at a pivotal time for the agency. Verster took over as CEO in October and is reorganizing the agency as it works to complete new LRT lines in the region and embarks on a major expansion of the GO Transit network.

The organization is also bracing for a provincial election in June that could result in it operating under a non-Liberal government for the first time in its 12-year history.