VIA Rail Canada has appointed Mathieu Paquette as president and CEO on a five-year mandate, while AECOM has named Dwight Pullen chief executive of its transportation global business line — two leadership changes announced within the same week that pair a national passenger operator mid-fleet renewal with a consultant chasing a growing global project pipeline.

Paquette joined VIA Rail in 2023 as chief human resources officer, and his remit subsequently expanded to cover communications, government relations and health and safety. He now takes the top job at an operator in the middle of three capital programmes: the renewal of its pan-Canadian fleet, the development of new maintenance facilities and the Dorval multimodal station project.

What does the new CEO plan to change?

"I am grateful for the confidence placed in me to continue leading VIA Rail," Paquette said. "Our ambition is to be the best passenger rail operator we can be and give more Canadians a reason to choose the train. Together with our teams, we will focus on maintaining our passengers' trust, one trip at a time, while building the VIA Rail of tomorrow."

His stated priorities are operational, not rhetorical:

• Strengthening operational performance
• Delivering more reliable and predictable service
• Growing ridership
• Improving financial performance through what the agency calls the responsible use of resources

Those goals arrive alongside a fleet renewal and station investment cycle that will define the service Paquette inherits. The agency has recently advanced all three projects; delivery dates and ridership targets rest with the incoming leadership team.

What backing does the board give him?

Board Chairperson Jonathan Goldbloom framed the appointment as a continuity decision anchored to a fixed term.

"Mathieu has demonstrated the leadership, strategic judgement and knowledge of our operations needed to guide VIA Rail through this next chapter," Goldbloom said. "The board has full confidence in him and his leadership team. His five-year mandate provides the stability to build on our progress and make the most of the opportunities ahead."

The five-year term is the concrete commitment: it gives Paquette a full planning horizon across the fleet, maintenance and Dorval programmes rather than an interim window.

Who takes over AECOM's transportation business?

Dwight Pullen will lead AECOM's global transportation business as the company pursues a growing pipeline of transportation projects worldwide. AECOM identifies particularly strong growth prospects in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand — five markets that now define the unit Pullen will run.

Pullen brings more than 30 years of transportation industry experience spanning major infrastructure programme delivery and global business leadership. He joined AECOM in 2022 to lead its aviation business and subsequently expanded his responsibilities to include surface transportation. Before AECOM, he held senior leadership roles across the infrastructure industry and led the delivery of major transportation programmes around the world.

"Dwight is a proven leader who understands what it takes to bring together our people, technical expertise and global capabilities around our clients' most complex challenges," said AECOM President Lara Poloni. "He brings an innovative mindset and a strong focus on how we can continue evolving the way we work and deliver. I am confident that under his leadership, we will build on our strong foundation and create even greater value for our clients."

How does the handover work?

Pullen succeeds Russell Jackson, who served as interim chief executive of the transportation global business line. Jackson stays inside the organisation: he will continue as AECOM's global rail and transit director, keeping institutional knowledge on the rail side of the business while Pullen runs the full transportation portfolio.

For VIA Rail, the appointment settles leadership at the moment its fleet renewal, maintenance facility build-out and Dorval multimodal station project move forward; for AECOM, it puts a three-decade programme veteran over a business line that the company expects to grow across five national markets. Both appointments take effect as their organisations enter capital-delivery phases that will test the new leadership against stated targets for reliability, ridership and client delivery.