JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — JTA CEO Nat Ford is Dallas-bound, and he’s catching an earlier bus than expected.
After initially announcing he’d leave the agency in January of 2027, his start date at the Dallas Area Rapid Transit has been set for October 26th, leaving just three months for JTA to figure out a temporary or permanent replacement.
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“The immediate problem, you know, we’ve got a good strong board, but we need an interim to lead the ship,” said Councilmember Rory Diamond (R-District 13).
Diamond, who serves as Council Liaison to JTA, argues the expedited timeline increases the likelihood JTA will need to name an interim CEO.
“There’s no way you can plug and play somebody in three months and it’s gonna be less than that, right? Because Nat Ford is going to have to move to Dallas and start transitioning over there,” said Diamond.
In a statement, JTA acknowledged it is “working with Mr. Ford and the Board of Directors to finalize a revised transition timeline”.
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Another question surrounding Ford’s departure is whether he may be entitled to any severance package.
His contract does allow for 20 weeks’ salary and any accrued vacation time to be paid out in a lump sum if he resigns with “good reason”.
Good reason could involve an asserted breach of contract by JTA or a diminishment of Ford’s duties without his consent.
We asked JTA whether Ford has asserted good reason for his departure, and the agency told us, “no such claims have been filed”.
Once Ford is gone, Diamond argued the next CEO will have their work cut out for them.
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“We need someone with experience in running an agency who can get us out of the mess we’re in. We also want somebody who knows Jacksonville or at least can adapt to Jacksonville very quickly because it’s a unique beast of what we need. Huge city, very few resources,” said Diamond.
We expect to learn more about JTA’s plans to find a new CEO during the next board meeting set for July 29th.
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