DART names interim leader after terminating outgoing CEO's contract

DALLAS - DART is moving in a new leadership direction after terminating the contract of their outgoing CEO earlier than anticipated.

DART names interim leader

What we know:

DART announced on Friday that Gene Gamez has been named Acting President & CEO of the company, and the contract of Nadine Lee, the company's outgoing leader, has been terminated.

Lee previously announced she would not seek to renew her contract as DART CEO, which would have expired in September 2026.

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DART CEO Nadine Lee to step down after her contract ends

DART CEO Nadine Lee is stepping down following a period of scrutiny and governance changes, prompting an immediate search for a new leader to guide the agency’s transit operations.

DART leaders and Lee attempted to negotiate a severance agreement prior to her September departure to allow the next CEO, but could not reach a consensus.

What they're saying:

"We are confident that this decision allows DART the ability to move forward with clarity, renewed focus, and a strong sense of accountability as we continue to serve our region and plan for its future," a DART press release on the move reads.

DART CEO Nadine Lee leaves company

Dig deeper:

Lee 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."

DART's first female CEO explains decision to leave

Nadine Lee will not seek to renew her contract in September as the CEO of DART. She spoke to FOX 4's Shaun Rabb about the highs and lows of her tenure in an interview on Friday.

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. 

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Plano cancels DART withdrawal election

Plano canceled DART withdrawal elections scheduled for May, the first city to do so before the deadline to cancel.

"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.