Talking with HART CEO David Armijo

The Board of Directors of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) named David Armijo HART’s Chief Executive Officer in August 2007. HART is a multi-modal system of local and express bus routes, paratransit service for the elderly and mobility impaired, and the TECO Line Streetcar System, combining for more than 13 million passengers in 2008. David oversees the agency’s 734 employees, a fleet of 235 vehicles, and a total capital and operating budget of $117 million.

David’s more than 25 years of experience in the transportation industry includes the start-up of rail projects in Los Angeles and Dallas and development from the ground up of the system in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His multi-faceted background also includes managing toll roads in Orange County, California and the Red Cross fleet in San Diego. Since coming to Tampa Bay, David has balanced HART’s budget and is leading the agency into a new phase of growth, with major projects like the Bus Rapid Transit system, an extension of the streetcar line into downtown Tampa, and improved service to Tampa International Airport to be implemented in the next two years. David is a member of the Board of Directors of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and serves on APTA’s Bus, Rail, and Legislative Committees and the American Public Transportation Foundation Board of Directors.

I recently spent a half-day with David, discussing his work as HART’s CEO.

Doug: As you look down the road a bit, David, what do you see as the strategic issues facing HART that deserve your close attention as the agency’s CEO?

David: You should know, Doug, that I had my eye on the Tampa Bay region for a decade before I was chosen to head HART. I saw a region whose growth and development guaranteed it a place among the elite of metropolitan areas in the United States, and I couldn’t be more pleased to be here. Above all else, Doug, we’re at the tipping point here in Tampa Bay. The HART Board and I, along with HART staff and key stakeholders in the community, have a tremendous opportunity to take an already excellent agency to the next level: to go from really good to truly great. It’s a privilege – and really exciting – to play a leadership role in helping to ensure that HART realizes its tremendous promise, putting a comprehensive transportation system in place to meet rapidly growing demand (ridership has increased 7 percent annually for 7 years and growth is accelerating, while traffic gridlock in the region has become an ever greater nightmare!).So we’re poised to grow dramatically here in Tampa Bay, expanding our services to include bus rapid transit and eventually light rail. The future’s bright, but we’ve got to focus on generating the dollars to finance system expansion. In that regard, to be honest, HART, which will be celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year, traditionally hasn’t been aggressive in seeking taxpayer support for public transportation here in Tampa Bay, primarily, I think, because we’ve lacked a comprehensive, inspiring vision to share with the community. Well, the past is the past, and with a clear vision for the future in hand, the leadership of the HART Board’s Revenue Alternatives Task Force, and strong stakeholder support – most notably from Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio – we’re preparing for a sales tax referendum in 2010.So system expansion and related revenue enhancement top my strategic list as HART’s CEO, but I’m also spending substantial time in building internal executive management capacity. As you well know, Doug, systems aren’t merely physical infrastructure and equipment. More than anything else, HART is people, and the effectiveness of our executive management will be a huge factor in our ultimate success as a transportation system. So I’ve spent a tremendous amount of my time putting a new layer of executive managers in place, to ensure leadership and oversight in such key areas as construction, procurement, strategic planning, and human resource management. I know what you’re probably thinking, Doug: Isn’t this a big deviation from the popular notion that flat organizations are most effective? You’re right, I’m anything but politically correct where the flat-is-good philosophy is concerned. Twenty-five years in the business have taught me, among other things, that you’ve got to have really top-notch executives in place to provide hands-on leadership and direction for critical functions – that is, if you intend to grow while also efficiently managing operations. To my way of thinking, one of my foremost challenges as CEO of HART is organizational development, and a huge piece of that is executive capacity building.

Doug: What executive leadership attributes and skills do you think are most critical in your success as HART’s CEO?

David: There’s one attribute, Doug, that tops the list, in my opinion: integrity. What I mean is following through on promises – walking the talk. If people inside and outside HART can’t take me at my word as HART’s CEO, then I’ll be far less effective as a community leader and partner with my Board in leading HART into the future. So I never, ever make promises that I don’t intend to keep. Strategic planning is an obviously critical CEO skill, and I’ve worked closely with my Board to implement a process that has resulted in a clear vision for the future and detailed strategies for getting there. We’ve made sure that the Board is in the strategic driver’s seat, taking the lead in fashioning our plans for the future, rather than just passively reacting to finished plans that staff produce. I really do take seriously the idea of a Strategic Leadership Team that includes the Board, CEO, and top executives, working hand-in-hand in setting strategic directions. Another skill that I’ve worked hard to develop and hone over the years is stakeholder relations, which, of course, involves a big dollop of communication. There’s no way HART can build community support for adequate funding for system expansion without the enthusiastic support of key stakeholders like the Tampa Mayor and Council and the Hillsborough County Commission.

Doug: David, you mentioned stakeholder relations as one of your top CEO priorities. Would you expand on this facet of your work?

David: I’d be happy to, Doug; there’s no area of my work that is closer to my heart. First, let’s talk about who these stakeholders are. They’re groups of people, organizations, and sometimes even individuals that it makes good sense to develop and manage a relationship with because of the stakes involved, including such things as political support, money, and collaboration. The public at large in Tampa Bay, including all residents, not just our riders, are HART’s – and my – preeminent stakeholders. So I spend a lot of my time out in the community, speaking to civic groups and meeting with the media, making sure that our vision and strategies for the future and the good work we’re doing here in Tampa Bay are widely understood and appreciated. Of course, I share this diplomatic role with the HART Board, but that doesn’t mean that I can expect my Board members, who are, after all, unpaid volunteers with many other demands, to match my effort as HART’s ambassador-in-chief. Internally, the Board of Directors is one of my highest-priority stakeholders, of course, and I’ve also got to be very visible to, and communicate effectively with, staff - and with the union as well, which I really do view as part of the HART team. Naturally, we have our differences now and then, but I refuse to treat the union as an adversary. I take my internal diplomatic role very seriously. For example, I make a point of participating in frequent staff roundtables at our various locations, and the $30 gift card we gave to all employees last Christmas, while it wasn’t a huge bonus by any means, was really appreciated.As far as specific external stakeholders are concerned, we’ve significantly upgraded our working relationship with the State of Florida by establishing a full-time legislative relations function, and we’ve cemented an especially close working relationship with the Mayor of Tampa, Pam Iorio, who is an outspoken, and very influential, proponent of HART’s establishing light rail service. Pam hasn’t agreed with us on every issue, naturally; for example, she’s expressed strong reservations about bus rapid transit development, seeing it as drawing attention away from light rail. But her strong, consistent advocacy for public transportation in Tampa Bay makes her a highly valued partner, and we pay really close attention to keeping our working relationship with Pam close, positive, and productive.

Doug: Tell me about your relationship with the HART Board of Directors, starting with what you consider the Board’s greatest strengths as HART’s governing body.

David: My Board has been consistently encouraging and supportive during my first 18 months as HART’s CEO, and I’ve been able to use the group as a powerful sounding board for testing ideas and possible initiatives. I’d say that, as a governing body, my Board deserves kudos for its strategic decision-making, especially framing a vision for the future. You should know, Doug, that I treat my Board as a precious asset and critical partner in leading HART. I’ve made sure that the Board plays a creative, proactive role in making strategic decisions through our upgraded agency planning process, and I’m currently working with the Board Chair to launch a systematic Board development initiative, involving our holding a full-fledged strategic planning retreat, updating the Board’s governing role and functions, and modernizing the Board’s committee structure. I’ve also taken a number of steps to improve communication with the Board. For example, I meet regularly with individual Board members and have instituted a weekly email update and a news blast to ensure that they’re never caught off guard by developments.

Doug: What do you find most satisfying in your CEO role, and, flipping the coin over, what do you find least satisfying?

David: I absolutely love the decision making dimension of being HART’s CEO. I relish the opportunity to play a leading role, with my Board, in making the kind of high-impact strategic and operational decisions that make a significant difference in the community. I wake up every morning keenly aware that we at HART are in a position to play a key role in helping Tampa Bay realize its tremendous promise as a metropolitan super-star of the future. I’m a positive thinker, so I don’t like to focus on the downside. However, I’d be less than honest if I didn’t admit that I don’t find very enjoyable or satisfying having to deal with employees whose performance is sub-par. This just comes with the CEO turf, and I’d be doing HART a disservice if I failed to address underperforming employees, so I don’t waffle in dealing with underperformers. But like that part of my CEO role? No way.

Doug: Well, David, knowing that you prefer focusing on the positive, I’ll risk asking you this final question: What mistake have you made since becoming CEO of HART that has taught you a valuable lesson?

David: Actually, Doug, I consider mistakes a valuable part of growing, just so long as you act on the lessons they teach. One of mine that comes to mind has to do with our streetcar line. Shortly after arriving on the scene at HART, I learned that the line was in such bad shape financially that immediate action was needed to avert a fiscal catastrophe. I was right about the issue, but I got ahead of the streetcar board in attempting to resolve the problem. Everything turned out OK, but I found myself having to backtrack in building understanding and support. The lesson I learned? Communicate, communicate, communicate; involve, involve, involve! You can’t go it alone as a CEO, not for long, anyway.