People News: LA Metro, GXO, Bentley Systems, WAGO

Current Bentley Systems COO Nicholas Cumins will transition to the role of CEO, effective July 1, 2024.

LA Metro appoints three key executives to lead program management, human resources and planning. Also, GXO appoints Kristine Kubacki as Chief Strategy Officer; Bentley Systems announces a CEO transition plan; and WAGO hires Tom Land as Regional Sales Manager in the Los Angeles area.

LA Metro

LA Metro on March 21 announced three executive-level appointments: Darcy Buryniuk has been appointed Chief Program Management Officer; Ilyssa DeCasperis has been appointed Chief People Officer; and Ray Sosa, Deputy Chief of Planning, has been promoted to Chief Planning Officer.

“I am thrilled to welcome Darcy and Ilyssa to Metro, and congratulate Ray on his promotion,” said LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “These three leaders will help shape and guide Metro as we implement our ambitious plans to provide world-class transit services that improve Angelenos’ quality of life.”

A civil engineer, Buryniuk brings more than 35 years of experience leading global design and transit projects to Metro as he spearheads the agency’s ambitious capital program—the largest in the nation among transit agencies—that will transform public transportation in Los Angeles County. That program includes the LAX/Metro Transit Center set to open later this year.

Buryniuk’s previous large rail infrastructure projects with cumulative global project values totaling more than $30 billion include the Taipei Metro Orange and Blue lines, North South Railway Project across Saudi Arabia, Dubai Metro Green Line extension, Kuala Lumpur Metro Line 1, Hong Kong Shatin to Central Link Metro line, Singapore to Kuala Lumpur High-Speed Rail tender, Melbourne Airport railway and the Brisbane CrossRiverRail stations and tunnels project. Buryniuk holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) in Civil Engineering from Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

“Darcy has built mega projects around the world, and his experience will be invaluable as we build a transit system that meets and exceeds our customers’ expectations,” said Wiggins.

DeCasperis brings more than 35 years of legal experience and 24 years in human resources management to LA Metro. In her new role, she will be responsible for “aligning with the business strategy and goals of the agency and helping build out key areas for strategic growth including talent acquisition, performance management, learning and development.” Most recently, she served as the Chief People Officer for Metrolink, where she focused on increasing employee engagement and reducing recruitment times. During her tenure, Metrolink was certified as a “Most Loved Workplace” by Best Practice Institute research and analysis.

Prior to joining Metrolink, DeCasperis served as the Vice President of Human Resources at Doctors Hospital in Riverside, where she developed and implemented employee experience strategies. She also spent two years at New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in labor relations, and she has represented medical schools, healthcare facilities and school districts as a labor negotiator. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from St. John’s University and a Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School.

“When Ilyssa and I worked together at Metrolink, I came to value and depend on her strategic counsel, her experience and expertise in working with organized labor, and her long track record of leadership in human capital development,” said Wiggins. “I’m delighted to be working with her again and am looking forward to her positive impact on Metro during this critical period for the agency.”

Sosa brings to LA Metro more than 25 years in transportation project planning at the local, national, and global levels. He started his career at LA Metro where he worked for 10 years before leaving to work in the private sector for the next 16 years. Since his return to LA Metro in 2022, he has demonstrated “exceptional leadership in steering planning projects from inception through to environmental clearance and the securement of funding ready to hand off for construction.” Sosa has been instrumental in managing teams on several LA Metro bus, rail and multimodal projects. Notably, Sosa’s role on the Metro Gold Line Phase 1 and the Regional Connector Transit Corridor stands out, “underscoring his expertise in guiding major planning projects into construction,” according to the agency.

Sosa is a native of Los Angeles and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree in Transportation from UCLA’s School of Urban Planning.

“Over his long career with Metro, and in the private sector, Ray helped steer dozens of projects from inception through environmental clearance and into construction. In the last few years, he has also helped secure critical funding to keep our massive capital program on track. We look forward to working with Ray in his new role to deliver on our promises to LA County voters and to build a world-class transit system of which Angelenos can be proud,” said Wiggins.

GXO

Contract logistics provider GXO on March 21 announced the appointment of Kristine Kubacki as Chief Strategy Officer, effective April 1. She will be responsible for “identifying and evaluating growth and market expansion opportunities, helping set long-term strategy, advising on capital structure and capital allocation, and developing and articulating GXO’s corporate strategy for delivering outstanding value and performance to shareholders and the investment community.” Kubacki will be based in Greenwich, Conn., and will report to CFO Baris Oran.

Kubacki has two decades of experience in Investor Relations and as a sell-side analyst with a deep understanding of global industrial, logistics and transportation sectors. Most recently, Kubacki served as Vice President of Investor Relations at the Wabtec Corporation, a global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and value-added services for freight and transit rail.

Prior to Wabtec, Kubacki served as Executive Director and Senior Analyst for the transportation, logistics and equipment sector at Mizuho and held equity research roles at CLSA Americas, Avondale Partners and A.G. Edward & Sons. She began her career as a Supply Chain Manager for Procter & Gamble with positions in operations management, process design and supply chain management.

“Kristine brings a deep understanding of our industry and the critical role we play within global supply chains,” said GXO CEO Malcolm Wilson. “As we execute our long-term growth strategy, she is well positioned to deepen understanding among investors of the value a scaled, pure-play contract logistics provider can deliver and the market forces propelling our growth.”

Kubacki holds a master’s degree in business administration and a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Washington University. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Webster University.

Bentley Systems

Infrastructure engineering software company Bentley Systems on March 21 announced that, effective July 1, 2024, Greg Bentley will transition from CEO to Executive Chair of the company’s Board of Directors. Current COO Nicholas Cumins will then be promoted to CEO and be proposed to join the Board of Directors.

The announcement was made during the opening event for Bentley Systems’ new UK headquarters in the City of London, beginning the observance of the company’s 40th anniversary.

Cumins has served as Bentley Systems’ COO since January 2022. He joined the company as Chief Product Officer in September 2020 prior to the company’s IPO. Previously, he was General Manager of SAP Marketing Cloud and served as Chief Product Officer of Scytl, a platform for online voting, and as Senior Vice President of Product with OpenX, a pioneer in programmatic advertising. Before OpenX, Cumins had already served in a variety of senior roles at SAP, including product management, corporate strategy, and business development. He is a dual French and U.S. citizen and is based in France. He holds Maîtrise de Droit (Law) and Maîtrise de Sciences de Gestion (Business) degrees from University Paris II Panthéon-Assas, Paris.

“This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of Bentley Systems, at its essence a company of engineers for engineers,” said Cumins. “Remarkably, the company has been founder- and family-led throughout those four decades. Greg has presided over an extraordinary legacy of long-term growth, sustained innovation, and value creation inspired by a commitment to advancing the world’s infrastructure for better quality of life. Greg has had a profound influence on the lives and careers of Bentley colleagues, and, together with them, on infrastructure engineers worldwide, taking pride in their work and what Bentley software enables them to accomplish. His entrepreneurial spirit is deeply embedded in the company’s culture and values. I am honored to have been selected to follow in his footsteps, and I represent the Bentley leadership team when I say we are confident in our readiness and growth mindset for the coming decades.”

CEO since 1995, Bentley is the oldest of five brothers who founded Bentley Systems. Keith, Ray, and Barry Bentley retired within the last several years and remain company Directors.

“I am very pleased to be able to retire from CEO responsibilities this year (at age 69) with such confidence that this completion of our extended succession process now leaves Bentley Systems demonstrably able to increase its potential, while safeguarding its established performance,” said Bentley. “Under Nicholas Cumins as COO since January 2022 (and Chief Product Officer previously) both our ARR growth and operating margins have consistently improved to the highest levels in our just-now 40-year history. And vitally, over the three-plus years since BSY’s IPO and the expected retirement wave that enabled, we fully reinvigorated our executive leadership with a high-functioning cadre that, while 20 years younger, benefits from valuable public-company experience and is already reaching its collaborative stride.

“Most significantly, our Board determined Nicholas to be the ideal CEO for our future by virtue of the continuity he respects and personifies in our ‘family values’ of dedication to the success of our colleagues and thence the success of our users and accounts. Equally, I am personally excited by the resolve and zeal of Nicholas and this next generation of leaders for technical and commercial innovation within our sustained mission.

“I am looking forward to contributing as Executive Chair, foreseeably. Beyond supporting Nicholas behind the scenes in the functions naturally new to him, I will remain responsible for overall capital allocation, such as potential platform acquisitions. And by choice I will continue to regularly interact with our investment constituencies, with whom I have found particular affinity. Here’s to Bentley Systems’ next 40 years,” Bentley concluded.

WAGO

WAGO recently announced that Tom Land has been hired to become the company’s new Regional Sales Manager in the Los Angeles area.

With a strong background in automation and sales, as well as field service and repair, Land brings a wealth of knowledge to his new position.

For nearly 30 years Land has become familiar with the area as a district and regional sales manager for a few different companies, a strength he hopes to build on.

“I want to use my experience and extensive knowledge of the Los Angeles market to expand the WAGO sales into new markets where possible,” said Land. “I look forward to bringing new products and solutions to new markets to help further spread the WAGO message.”