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By Debra Solomon
Baker
Larry
Salci
president and CEO,
METRO |
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It is improbable that the automobile will be dethroned any time
soon in St. Louis. We tend, after all, to view our cars—be they
SUVs or convertibles—as indispensable items in our lives. But Larry
Salci, president and ceo of Metro, is determined to get St. Louisans
to rethink their alternatives, to give the automobile some viable
competition.
If Salci’s vision for the future of our region is accurate, we can
expect an even more efficient and customer-friendly Metro system,
new residential development around rail stations, and perhaps even
a trend here of fewer automobiles per family.
Currently, the Metro public transportation system includes the 34-mile
MetroLink light rail system, 470 vehicle Metrobus fleet that operates
on 84 bus routes, and Metro Call-A-Ride, a paratransit fleet of
88 vans.
“My hope is that, down the road, people will see the tremendous
benefit of continuing to expand, that they will be saying that they
want more Metro, more MetroLink, in particular,” says Salci, speaking
of the automobile, is a native of Detroit, who began his career
with Chrysler. “We certainly can’t do it overnight, and we can’t
do it without controversy.”
After a brief stint in “retirement,” Salci decided to reenter the
workforce. He arrived in St. Louis less than two years ago, determined
to offer something back to the transportation industry, which had
nurtured him throughout his entire professional life. Now, a long
way from that retired life, he typically works 10 to 12 hours a
day, six days a week and proudly states that he runs Metro “like
a private business with a social conscience.”
“We are not looking at people as riders or statistics, but as customers,”
Salci says. “People should have a very positive experience when
riding Metro—to do that, [our system] has to be on time and clean,
and our operators have to be courteous.”
This father of two (his youngest, Brian, lives at home and aspires
to be a professional golfer), describes himself as serious and very
intense. He says that he has a passion for building and loves more
than anything to see the tangible results of his projects.
“It gives me a lot of satisfaction to see our society benefit from
the things that I have helped build,” he says. “Transportation is
the lifeblood of our economy,” he says. “St. Louis is a bit late
in terms of public transportation. But, better late than never.”
Debra Solomon Baker is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer.
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE INSIGHTS
Do you take all of your vacation in a chunk, or few days here
and there? What is the most interesting vacation that you’ve taken?
“I typically take two weeks vacation in August, during which I throw
a tent, sleeping bag and backpack on my motorcycle and go to Montana
and/or Wyoming to go backpacking. Throughout the remainder of the
year, I will take a number of one- or two-day periods, mostly to
work on things around the house.
“My most interesting vacation was when my twin sons graduated from
high school. I gave them each a motorcycle for graduation, and we
rode to Glacier National Park to go hiking, and camped along the
way. We took three weeks that time and had a blast, covering over
6,500 miles on our bikes and spending a lot of time together in
the woods.”
JOHN P. MCALISTER, PH.D. PRESIDENT AND
CEO, TRIPOS INC.
“I typically take a few weeks in the summer. Last year my boyfriend,
Dick Miles, and I headed to Japan and China. During our trip to
China, we met a local teenager by the name of Ai Xi and asked her
to take our picture in front of The Forbidden City. Ever since our
trip, we’ve been pen pals with Ai.”
PATRICIA WHITAKER, PRESIDENT, ARCTURIS
“I usually take a few days of vacation here and there. My most interesting
vacation was a recent one to Argentina, where I traveled for my
childhood friend’s wedding. He is editor of the English language
version of the Buenos Aires Herald and has lived in Argentina for
more than 30 years. I took my oldest son, who is fluent in Spanish,
with me, and he was able to interpret the wedding, helping me to
experience the cultural uniqueness of it. Another highlight was
seeing the famous tango being danced at a club near our hotel.”
JACK WIER, PRESIDENT, MARTIN WIER INC.
“I take my vacation a few days at a time and would not consider
being gone for more than a week. Although, I am always in touch
with the office by phone when I am on vacation, I feel it is incumbent
for the CEO to remain in close contact with the organization. This
is especially true during the current economic climate.
“My most interesting vacation was over the Chilkoot Pass in Alaska.
A small group and I hiked into the pass, which is in the wilderness
and requires that you carry everything with you. This trip tested
my mental and physical resources and my ability to face an entirely
new set of challenges.”
ROSHARA J. HOLUB, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MO
CREDIT UNION ASSOCIATION |
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