RTD committee sends proposed $411,000-$509,000 CEO salary range to board
The Performance Committee also advanced an amended compensation policy and a proposed search schedule targeting a Jan. 5, 2027, appointment.
RTD’s Performance Committee sent the proposed $411,000-to-$509,000 base-salary range for the agency’s next chief executive officer to the full Board of Directors. The board is scheduled to consider the package Sept. 22, 2026.
The committee’s Sept. 14 action did not set the next CEO’s pay. It advanced the salary range, CEO job description and amended compensation philosophy for board consideration. The committee approved the philosophy unanimously after voting 6-1 to amend it, with Kathleen Chandler opposed. The job-description and salary-range item also passed 6-1, with Michael Guzman opposed, the committee minutes show.
The proposed base salary is estimated to produce total compensation of $446,000 to $622,000, according to RTD’s compensation materials. The estimate is not a guaranteed package; the eventual CEO’s salary and benefits would be negotiated between the candidate and the board.
The amended policy would permit performance-based pay tied to agency, team or individual objectives. It also would allow candidate-specific compensation, including negotiated benefits and perquisites. The policy does not establish which benefits the eventual CEO would receive or their value.
The proposed salary range spans the 25th through 75th market percentiles. The compensation framework would target pay at about the 50th percentile of comparable public-transit agencies and related public and private employers. The final package could vary based on the candidate, agency circumstances and fiscal constraints, the compensation materials say.
Search timeline
RTD’s current CEO, Debra A. Johnson, has an employment agreement that expires May 8, 2027. The proposed schedule calls for posting the job Sept. 28 and accepting applications through Nov. 20.
If the board approves the materials, the five-member CEO Search Committee would include Executive Committee members Karen Benker, Chris Gutschenritter, Ian Harwick, Chris Nicholson and Patrick O’Keefe. The committee would review applications Nov. 20-23 and select six to eight candidates for first-round interviews around Nov. 24 or 25.
First-round interviews are planned for Nov. 30 through Dec. 4. Finalists would be designated Dec. 4 and interviewed by the board and director-elects from Dec. 4-18, alongside planned public and stakeholder input. The board is scheduled to select a CEO designee and authorize contract negotiations Dec. 18, then appoint the new CEO and approve an employment agreement Jan. 5, 2027.
The schedule is an estimate and could change. RTD hired Krauthamer & Associates to conduct the national search and assist with candidate screening, interviews, assessments, public and stakeholder input, and negotiations.