SouthWest Transit will hit the reset button on its search for a new chief executive officer after a recent search process failed to yield an accepted job offer.
The SouthWest Transit Commission that oversees the Eden Prairie-based transit service decided last week to hit pause and is expected to hire another search firm, said Matt Fyten, the organization’s chief operating officer and interim CEO.
To help with the ongoing transition, the commission will also consider extending the advisory role of outgoing CEO Len Simich when it meets June 23, added Fyten.
Simich is retiring after leading the public transit agency since 1997. He informed the commission of his plans in 2021, and the agency subsequently hired a national placement firm, KL2 Connects, to begin a nationwide search for his replacement.
That search yielded three finalists – two of them out-of-state and the other within the organization – but a work agreement with the favored candidate could not be reached.
The commission did not respond to an EPLN request for additional comment.
SouthWest Transit provides services to Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Chaska, and Carver.
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