Joseph J. Lhota
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Recommended by: Governor Date Appointed: January 4, 2012 Term Expires: June 30, 2015 Board Committees: Chair: Capital Program Oversight, Corporate Governance, Security

Joseph J. Lhota has extensive experience in both government and business.

Before joining the MTA, Mr. Lhota served as executive vice president, administration for the Madison Square Garden Company, a division of Cablevision, where he was responsible for the development and execution of companywide human resources strategies, government affairs, information technology, and an array of corporate services.

He was New York City deputy mayor for operations under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, where he oversaw day-to-day management of the city, and supervised city agencies. He was instrumental in developing and implementing the innovative strategies and initiatives that accomplished the successful turnaround of the city as well as its coordinated response after September 11, 2001.

Before being appointed deputy mayor Mr. Lhota was the city's budget director, managing the city's $36 billion operating budget and $45 billion capital budget. He also served as the commissioner of finance for New York City and was a board member of the MTA.

Prior to his government service he had a 15-year career in investment banking as director of public finance for First Boston and managing director of the Municipal Securities Group for PaineWebber Incorporated.

He is a trustee of the City University of New York, where he is chair of the board's standing committee on fiscal affairs.

Mr. Lhota is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University and he received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Mr. Lhota was born in the Bronx, raised on Long Island, and now lives in Brooklyn. He is the son of a retired New York Police Department lieutenant and the grandson of a New York City Fire Department firefighter and a New York City taxi driver.