Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald has appointed W. Michael Anderson as the new Executive Director of the Washington State Ferries. Anderson has been serving as the acting director since November 2004. The appointment culminates Andersons 32 year career at WSF. He began work at WSF as a traffic attendant and worked his way through the ranks in various line and management positions including ticket seller, terminals manager and operations director.
Mikes experience in the organization was a big factor in his selection for the position, declared MacDonald.
Being a part of Washington State Ferries has long been a great source of pride for me and I am honored to be appointed as the director. I am confident that my commitment to WSF will help make the organization an even stronger one as we move into the future, commented Anderson.
I believe Mikes appointment will be greeted with widespread satisfaction and approval by his colleagues inside and out of the ferries system, noted MacDonald. The system has many strengths and also faces significant challenges. Mike is the right person at the right time to take the program forward.
The appointment goes into effect immediately. Among Andersons first tasks will be filling several vacancies in the senior management staff and assessing the current structure to determine the best organizational alignment to the needs facing WSF: delivering the largest capital construction program in WSF history, specifically as it relates to the design-build procurement of four new ferries and the rehabilitation of several terminals. Improving efforts to develop understanding of the Ferries financial picture, still unsettled in the wake of I-695, will also be a key focus for Anderson as he starts his new job.
