Preliminary Screening Committee Recommends Massport CEO Finalists
Final decision to be made at an upcoming Special Board meeting
BOSTON – The Preliminary Screening Committee of the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) Board of Directors today recommended two candidates to the full Board for consideration as the next Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The finalists are Eulois Cleckley, the the Director and CEO of the Department of Transportation and Public Works for Miami-Dade County, and Richard Davey, President of New York City Transit, for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Board of Directors will make a final decision on the next Massport CEO at a later special board meeting.
Massport, a quasi-state agency, is governed by a seven-member Board, which is responsible for hiring a CEO and began the search process after Lisa Wieland announced her resignation in August 2024. In September, the Board of Directors named a three-member screening committee to screen candidates: Board of Directors Chairwoman Patricia Jacobs, Board member Warren Fields, and Board member Sean O’Brien. After a Request for Proposals process, the firm of Isaacson, Miller was hired to assist with the search.
“I want to thank the other members of the committee and Isaacson, Miller for their dedication to finding qualified candidates for the next CEO,” said Board Chairwoman Patricia Jacobs. “We’re confident in recommending these finalists, whose skills and experience will build upon Massport’s recent successes, engage with our many stakeholders and neighboring communities, and to ensure the Authority fulfills its mission as an economic engine for the Commonwealth.”
In her remarks, Chairwoman Jacobs explained that the Isaacson, Miller team used a comprehensive outreach strategy to attract top aviation, maritime, and transportation leaders nationally to ensure a thorough search for qualified candidates. Nearly 100 people expressed interest, of those 48 candidates were considered and 10 candidates made the first round. Three candidates were advanced to a second round earlier this month, and the committee met this morning to vote to advance Eulois Cleckley and Richard Davey to the Board as the CEO finalists. Of the 10 first round candidates, half were women and six were people of color.
Director of Aviation Ed Freni has been Interim CEO since November.
“Massport has a great team in place, and I was honored to have been asked to sit in this seat while the search for the next CEO was ongoing,” said Interim CEO and Director of Aviation Ed Freni. “The staff and I are looking forward to the completion of this search process and excited to work with our next leader.”
Massport was created by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1956 as a revenue-generating, public authority, capable of issuing its own revenue bonds—without the full faith and credit of the Commonwealth—and governed by a publicly appointed Board of Directors. Massport employs nearly 1,300 people and there are an additional 20,000 employed at various facilities by our tenants.
Massport owns and operates Boston Logan International Airport, public terminals in the Port of Boston, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. Massport’s premier transportation facilities generate more than $20 billion annually and enhance and enable economic growth and vitality in New England.