Transit hire’s mission: Overhaul the system

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority rolled out industry veteran Mario Peloquin as its new chief operating officer Wednesday, citing him as the man to lead the agency’s charge into the future.

Peloquin’s daunting task in the $325,000-a-year job is modernizing all aspects of MTA business and operations for the first time in more than a half century. He most recently worked as a senior vice president at SNC-Lavalin, a Montreal-based company with offices in more than 50 countries providing engineering, procurement and construction services.

“I’m eager to hit the ground running as part of the time that will fundamentally transform the MTA for more than 8 million daily customers,” he said.

MTA Chairman Patrick Foye expressed confidence Peloquin was the right man for the right job at exactly the right time.

“Mario has the talent and expertise to continue to drive forward the operational gains we have achieved and help bring the MTA into a new era of customer service at this critical time in the agency’s history,” said Foye.

Peloquin has held positions at several companies that do business with the MTA. He has served as a vice president at Thales, a company that makes subway signaling systems and will bid on billions in agency work over the next five years.

He additionally worked as a general manager at Nova Bus, one of the MTA’s biggest bus manufacturers. And he also spent time as an executive in the rail division at Siemens, a company in hot water with the MTA for its bungled rollout of federally mandated safety equipment on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road.

When asked if riders should be concerned about Peloquin’s potential conflicts of interest, MTA spokeswoman Abbey Collins said, “Absolutely not.”