Jay Walder was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Virgin Hyperloop One Hyperloop One (known from October 2017 to November 2022 as Virgin Hyperloop or Virgin Hyperloop One) is an American transportation technology company that works to commercialize the high-speed travel concept called the Hyperloop, a variant of t ...

, an American transportation technology company. He has been the CEO of

Motivate Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...

, a bike sharing company, and of the Hong Kong transit company

MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong ...

(MTRC), before resigning from that position in July 2014. Before joining MTRC, Walder was the chairman and chief executive officer of the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

in the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

, the largest transit agency in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Prior to his service at the MTA, Walder was the managing director for finance and planning at Transport for London until 2007, and is credited with the introduction of the

Oyster card The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...

and with drafting London's successful bid for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Biography

Walder was born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and grew up in the

Rockaways The Rockaway Peninsula, commonly referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway, is a peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, New York. Relatively isolated from Manhattan and other more urban parts of ...

in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

borough of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, where he attended

Beach Channel High School Beach Channel High School (BCHS) (also known as High School 410 or H.S. 410), was a high school in the public school system of New York City, located at 100-00 Beach Channel Drive in Rockaway Park in the borough of Queens. The school opened in 1 ...

. He attended

Harpur College The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public research university with campuses in Binghamton, Vestal, and Johnson City, New York. It is one of the four university centers in the State ...

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

, and received a Masters in Public Policy from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Career

Walder worked for the MTA from 1983 to 1995 holding several leadership positions, including chief financial officer. He was a lecturer in public policy at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

from 1995 to 2000, during which time he spent a year as a visiting lecturer at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

. From 2001 to 2007 he was managing director for finance and planning at Transport for London. He was a partner at

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

London from 2007 to 2009. In 2009, New York State Gov. David A. Paterson appointed Walder chairman and CEO, after firing Elliot G. Sander, of the MTA (the positions of chairman and CEO of the authority had recently merged when the appointment was made). On July 11, 2011, Walder announced his resignation from MTA, effective in October 2011, when he moved to

(MTRC) in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. He left on October 21, 2011. He officially took over as CEO of MTRC on January 1, 2012. Walder announced he would step down from the position as MTR CEO in July 2014.

Christopher O. Ward Christopher Owen Ward (born 1954) is an American civil servant who served as executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from May 22, 2008, until November 1, 2011, and as New York City Department of Environmental Protecti ...

was also ousted by Cuomo at the same time, removing Paterson appointee's. In October 2014, Walder was named CEO of

, the company that runs some bike share systems in North America. His appointment came with

's announcement of the Bikeshare Holdings acquisition, promising new leadership, $30 million infusion of cash, relocation of headquarters from Portland to NY, and immediate expansion for Citi Bike. In January 2015, Alta Bike Share changed its name to Motivate.

Advisory boards

Walder is a member of

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

's visiting committee for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

's Board of Advisors of the Taubman Center. In 2013, Walder gave the Gustav Pollak lecture in the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at

, titled "From Queens to Hong Kong: More than Just a Train Ride". He was a Fellow of the Hong Kong Management Association, member of the General Committee of the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong, and a governor of the

American Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging ...

in Hong Kong. Walder served on

International Association of Public Transport The International Association of Public Transport (UITP, from the french: L’Union internationale des transports publics) is a non-profit advocacy organization for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific in ...

(UITP)'s Executive Board, the

American Public Transit Association The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit group of approximately 1,500 public and private sector member organizations that promotes and advocates for the interests of the public transportation industry in the United S ...

(APTA)'s Executive Committee, and the Eno Transportation Foundation's board of advisors.

High-speed rail delays

In April 2014, at the Hong Kong transit company

, local newspapers revealed a two-year delay to the high-speed cross-border rail link. MTR Corp officials led by Walder were accused of concealing the progress of the project. Walder had been facing calls to quit after a report submitted to the legislative council said he had stopped the secretary for transport and housing from telling lawmakers about the delay. At the time it was also confirmed that Walder would not be given a new contract when it was due to expire in August 2015.

Biography

Career

Advisory boards

High-speed rail delays

References

Further reading