DART names interim CEO, launches nationwide search for permanent leader

DALLAS - DART has tabbed a familiar face to be their interim CEO as the company looks for a permanent leader.

DART names interim president

What we know:

DART named David Leininger as its Interim President and CEO on Thursday. His role will begin on May 4.

Leininger previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of DART for nine years, as well as its interim president and CEO from 2020 to 2021.

DART has also initiated a national search to find the company's next permanent leader.

What they're saying:

"The Board is confident that David’s steady leadership, industry expertise, and collaborative approach will ensure continuity of service and maintain the agency’s focus on delivering safe, reliable, and efficient transit for the North Texas region," said Randall Bryant, Chairman of the DART Board of Directors. "His experience will be critical as we continue advancing key priorities, strengthening partnerships with our member cities, and positioning DART for long-term success."

"I am honored to serve in this role once again and support the dedicated employees of DART," said Leininger. "Together, we will remain focused on providing dependable transit options, enhancing the customer experience, and advancing the agency’s mission to connect people, places, and opportunities across our region."

DART CEO Nadine Lee leaves company

The backstory:

DART had previously named Gene Gamez its Acting President & CEO after terminating outgoing CEO Nadine Lee's contract when the two sides could not come to a severance agreement.

Lee, who had led the transportation company since 2021, announced she would not seek to extend her contract in March.

She pointed to recent "political hurdles" for the service when examining her time with DART in an interview with FOX 4's Shaun Rabb.

"But at the broader level, we've encountered a lot of political hurdles, and that's one of the things that has distracted us from our mission, distracted us from moving faster at improving the quality of our services and things like that."

When asked if those hurdles were why she decided to step down, Lee said "Not necessarily directly."

Hurdles include the upcoming DART withdrawal elections that Addison, Highland Park and University Park will have in May. 

"I think in every locality, there are disparate interests and disparate opinions on how to spend taxpayer money, and so, we really had to grapple with that acutely in this region over the last five years, particularly in the last two years."

Plano, Farmers Branch and Irving were originally scheduled to hold the same elections, but withdrew in recent months after DART pledged to change its board of directors and give hundreds of millions of dollars back to the cities.