RIPTA hires Florida executive search firm to find permanent CEO

Interim Rhode Island Public Transit Authority CEO Christopher Durand speaks at the agency's Board of Directors meeting on June 27, 2024. To his right is the board's attorney, Christopher Fragomeni, whose law firm recommended a headhunter to find a permanent CEO for the agency. Durand told reports after the meeting he is interested in the permanent position. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)

A Florida headhunter has been awarded a $60,000 contract to conduct a national search for a permanent CEO of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) over objections of transit advocates who called the move unnecessary and a waste of money for the cash-strapped agency.

RIPTA’s Board of Directors on Thursday voted 7-0 to select the Marraine Group headquartered in Port Saint Lucie to lead the search. A copy of the RIPTA’s agreement with Marraine was not made available. Board members James Lombardi and Marcy Reyes were absent from Thursday’s meeting.

Under the agreement, Marraine will find and select a candidate to be hired within four months, the board of director’s counsel Christopher Fragomeni said during the meeting. The new hire will fill the job that became vacant after former CEO Scott Avedisian resigned in April after being involved in an alleged hit-and-run at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Warwick.

Avedisian pleaded no contest to the charge in May.

Before he resigned from RIPTA, Avedisian’s salary was $181,795.

At least one applicant for the job is waiting in the wings. Christopher Durand, who previously served as the agency’s chief financial officer and was appointed interim executive director in April, said he is interested in the permanent job.

“I’ve been here for nine years — I love this place,” Durand told reporters after the board meeting. “I take it seriously, I appreciate the work.”

Transit advocates said RIPTA should be able to handle the search on its own.

“RIPTA is a desirable property,” RI Transit Riders Co-Chair Patricia Raub told the board. “If RIPTA conducts its own search, it will attract good candidates.”

Grant Dulagarian said RIPTA should just give Durand the permanent job.

“He has institutional knowledge, and that’s fundamental,” Dulagarian told the board.

The agreement with Marraine includes two job performance guarantees, Fragomeni said. Should a new CEO quit within a year, Marraine will search for a replacement free of charge. If the CEO leaves within two years of placement, the firm would charge $6,000 for a new search.

“I believe it makes sense to go outside,” Board member Normand Benoit said during the meeting. “$60,000, from my experience, is very reasonable.”

Benoit added that selecting an outside firm would convince Gov. Dan McKee’s office and General Assembly leadership that RIPTA is serious about finding someone with an extensive background in mass transit.

Board member Bob Kells questioned whether Rhode Island-based candidates would be considered by the Florida-based headhunting firm.

“It’s a possibility,” Fragomeni responded.

Chairman and Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr., assured the board that “the final review of this position will be this board.”

Marraine was one of six firms to respond to a “mini-bid” the agency issued following the board’s May 25 meeting. The names were then vetted by Fragomeni and other partners at his Providence-based law firm, Savage Law Partners, LLC.

Fragomeni did not disclose the names of the other five applicants during the meeting. He said Marraine was selected because it was the only vendor that “adequately demonstrated experience with a government entity.”

“No one single proposer identified direct experience with placing a CEO of a transit organization, but Marraine did indicate that almost 80% of its clients consist of government entities, nonprofits, and health care systems,” he said.

Fragomeni told the board Marraine had conducted a previous executive search for the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services. But Department of Human Services Spokesperson James Beardsworth did not find any information on the matter Friday morning.

“I have also reached out to purchasing at DOA though as a next step and they are going to look into this early next week,” Beardsworth  said.

The board must schedule an onboarding meeting with Marraine before the search can officially begin, Fragomeni told Rhode Island Current after the meeting.

“And from there it gets a little fluid because that’s where it’s back-and-forth between the search committee and the board as to what they want to see like timelines and so forth,” he said.

Driver recognized after deer collision

Also Thursday, the board issued a commendation for RIPTA operator Leocadio Hernandez, who on June 12, 2024, had a deer crash through the front window of his bus while driving his route in Warwick. There were six passengers on the bus at the time and two were injured, WPRI reported . The deer died and was removed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Hernandez still worked his route that day after transferring to a new bus.

“We just want to thank him for his service and keeping everybody safe,” Durand said.

Hernandez told the board he was just doing his job.

“I’m glad everything went smooth that day, and I’m glad it wasn’t on the opposite side of the windshield,” he said.

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