Sound Transit names Peter Rogoff as next CEO - will start in January

Peter Rogoff
New CEO of Sound Transit

The Sound Transit Board on Thursday unanimously chose Peter Rogoff, former head of the Federal Transit Administration, as the next Sound Transit CEO. 

He will replace longtime CEO Joni Earl, who is retiring next March following the launch of the U Link light rail extension. Joni was on the new CEO selection committee and will help with the transition.

Rogoff is currently Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, the federal government’s third-highest transportation official. As Federal Transit Administrator from 2009 to 2014, he negotiated and signed a record number of full funding grant agreements with transit agencies across the nation to expand rail and bus rapid transit infrastructure. His current work spans all transportation areas, including aviation, highway, rail, transit and maritime.

Rogoff will start in January. At yesterday’s Board meeting Dow Constantine, Sound Transit Board Chair and King County Executive, called Rogoff’s hiring a “home run.” Dave Upthegrove, King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Boardmember, called it the most important vote he will cast as a Boardmember.

Rogoff told the Board that he is deeply gratified and humbled to be the new CEO. “This is a high-functioning agency and high-functioning Board and I’m excited to build on the legacy of success.”

Rogoff earned his M.B.A. with honors at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and his bachelor’s degree in American Studies at Amherst College. He is 55 years old, married and the father of two teenage children.

His many honors include being the first recipient of the Transportation Equity Network’s Rosa Parks Award as well as the U.S. Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Award and the Dr. and Mrs. William and Budd Bell Award for “tireless advocacy for seniors and people with disabilities.”

You can read his bio here.