An employee of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) for 30 years, Marie-Claude Léonard was chosen to hold the position of general manager of this organization. Mme Léonard’s mission will be to bring back to the STM the ridership lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and guide the organization through the turbulence that public transit is going through.
The board of directors approved, on Friday morning, the appointment of Mr.me Léonard, who held the position of General Manager on an interim basis after the departure of Luc Tremblay at the end of March.
In the spring, the STM launched a recruitment process and called on a firm of headhunters to find the rare pearl. The selection committee finally settled on Mme Leonardo.
Joining the STM as a cashier three decades ago when she was a student, Marie-Claude Léonard rose through the ranks of the organization to become, in September 2021, the position of Executive Director, Metro and Bus Operations. . Last March, she was given the position of interim director general, pending the end of the selection process to find a replacement for Luc Tremblay.
Chairman of the STM’s board of directors and of the selection committee, Éric Alan Caldwell, believes that Mr.me Leonard was the most competent to meet the challenges that await the transport company. It is struggling to regain pre-pandemic traffic, must adapt to changes in travel habits of users in addition to facing funding issues.
“If we want to stay at the forefront in terms of public transit, we need someone who is able to analyze the situation well, to have the courage to act to make the necessary decisions and then apply them”, summarizes- he. “Marie-Claude had this ability, that is to say a good knowledge of the environment, a new perspective in the way of analyzing it where the reference or the finality. […] Throughout her career, she has never been content with the status quo. »
Mr. Caldwell says the selection committee received many “high quality” applications from the institutional and private sector. “It confirms that public transit is seen as a challenge of our time,” he says. In the end, the decision was made on the most competent person for the challenges we have. »
Mme Leonard said she was honored by this testimony of trust. “I want to highlight the full potential of STM employees who will help modernize the organization and make it even more efficient to meet the expectations of our customers and future generations,” she said in a press release. .
Financial issues
The STM is struggling to regain pre-pandemic ridership, with a rate that corresponds to 60% of 2019 levels. This winter, the transport company had also announced that it would reduce its services by 3.5% for the bus network and 5% for the metro in 2022. However, the STM did not want to cut more services for fear of losing even more users and intends to maintain the same level of services for the fall.
In December 2021, however, the STM’s 2022 budget included a shortfall of $43 million, a situation which had led the former CEO, Luc Tremblay, to denounce the shortcomings of the new public transport governance in the Montreal region since the creation of the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM).
Mr. Caldwell assures, however, that the STM was able to fill its budget hole thanks to government assistance and internal optimization efforts. He also maintains that relations with his partners, including the ARTM, have improved. “I don’t have the luxury of going to war with the partners, I need them,” he points out.
As for the diversification of revenues that the STM has been calling for for years, the elected official believes that the project on taxation launched by the City of Montreal and the working committee on the financing of public transit set up by the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, will help identify solutions. “There is a consensus that we need oxygen. Our major institutional interlocutors recognize that we have to find solutions,” he says.
Holder of a bachelor’s degree in medical biology and holder of a graduate degree in management at HEC Montréal, Mme Léonard held management positions at the STM for 20 years. His term will be for five years.
This is not the first time that a woman has run the STM. In the 1980s, Louise Roy served for seven years as CEO of the former Montreal Urban Community Transport Company (STCUM). Éric Alan Caldwell also points out that the majority of candidates interviewed for the position of CEO were women.