RTD Leadership Team

Alex Clifford

Chief Executive Officer

Alex Clifford assumed the role of RTD’s Chief Executive Officer on January 31, 2022 with over 30 years of experience in transit leadership, including 8 years of transit policy experience as a Riverside City Councilman.

Prior to joining RTD, he served as CEO at Santa Cruz METRO for over seven years. Under his leadership, the agency:

Resolved a fiscal structural deficit of $6 million that he inherited, which involved complete transparency, extensive public outreach and numerous Board workshops.
Completed the Judy K. Souza Operations building.
Developed the Agency’s first 10-year unfunded Capital Plan, identifying State of Good Repair capital needs of over $200 million.
Developed a plan for transitioning to all zero-emission buses by 2040 and purchased Santa Cruz’s first five zero emission battery electric buses.
Initiated the planning phase for a South County zero-emission bus division, including a hydrogen bus pilot plan; started work on the plan for a new paratransit facility; and started the process for replacement of the Pacific Station Transit Center.
Provided fiscal resiliency for the agency by creating fully funded designated and restricted Reserves, including an operating and capital reserves. Upon his retirement from Santa Cruz METRO, the agency had over $20 million in Reserves.
Led the agency through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, complying with all Local, State, Federal, and CalOSHA regulations and prevention measures, keeping passengers and staff safe while at the same time keeping service on the street to serve the transit needs of essential workers and avoiding layoffs and furloughs.

For his many accomplishments at METRO, he was named Small Transit Operators’ 2017 Transit Professional of the Year by California Transit Association (CTA). The award honors an outstanding individual who has provided strong leadership and vision. He is a Fellow of the Eno Transportation Foundation and he is the California Baptist University 2020 Alumnus of the Year.

Mr. Clifford currently serves on several industry boards, including Executive Committee Member of the California Transit Association (CTA) and is a CTA State Legislative Committee Member; CALACT Board Chair and Legislative Committee Member; and Board member of the American Public Transit Association (APTA) Board of Directors 2021 – present, and the Vice-Chair of the APTA Small Operations Committee.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from California State Polytechnic, Pomona, and a Master in Business Administration from California Baptist University.

Ciro Aguirre

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Aguirre was appointed as Chief Operating Officer in April of 2022 after serving as interim for nearly three months. With over 40 years of transit experience, he officially oversees Transportation, Service Development, Mobility, Maintenance, Facilities, Security, and other assigned departments.

In 1980, Aguirre began his transit career as a Mechanic II with Santa Clara County Transit, now called the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). He was later promoted to Maintenance Supervisor and then to Maintenance Superintendent where he oversaw, throughout his tenure, three Running Repair Divisions and the Overhaul and Repair Division for the VTA.

In 2006, Aguirre joined the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (Santa Cruz METRO) as the Operations Manager. He was later promoted to COO where he assumed responsibility for the Operations, Paratransit, Fleet Maintenance, Facilities, Customer Service, and Security departments.

Aguirre holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Psychology from San Jose State University.

John Hodson

Chief Information Officer

Mr. Hodson joined RTD in January 2023 as the Chief Information Officer. He has been a powerhouse in executive leadership for the last decade. His experience spans highly coveted roles such as Director of Technology, Head of IT, and Security Officer. He is an experienced professional with a deep passion for sustainability and civic engagement. From achieving perfect marks on the Cisco Certified Design Associate exam to cutting-edge projects such as The Method South Side Soap Box and its Gotham Greens rooftop farm, he has continuously demonstrated his ability to innovate and create positive change.

As an immigrant to this country, Mr. Hodson has actively championed diversity initiatives through key leadership roles, supportively mentoring individuals in underserved communities. He has served as Vice President of Interact, sponsored by Modesto Rotary; a mentor in the Helping One Student To Succeed (HOSTS) program to help local students with STEM skills; and is currently a board member of the Vallejo Center for the Arts in a CIO advisory role offering participation in philanthropic efforts such as Visions of the Wild Festival in Vallejo.

Robert Kyle

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Kyle joined RTD in April 2022 as the Chief Financial Officer. He is dual-licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) both of which were awarded in 2002. Mr. Kyle has over 24 years of experience in Finance leadership roles, the last four years were as a CFO for a manufacturing plant in Stockton. Prior to that, he worked as a contractor in Kabul, Afghanistan for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as the Director of Finance. The two projects he was involved in were Sika South (Stabilization in Key Areas) and ACEP (Afghanistan Clean Energy Program) for a total time in the country of 2.5 years; returning in mid-2014. Mr. Kyle is also a six-year veteran of the US Army having assignments in South Korea, West Germany, and Georgia, USA.