Rich Lobron is currently serving as Director of Rail Operations in the Mobility Operations Business Line of WSP Services, Inc. In this role, he leads various projects involving operations and safety issues related to transit and rail activities. He holds experience as a senior advisor and C-Level executive with various public and private sector enterprises in five industries – transportation, manufacturing, health care, higher education, and government. Rich was appointed to the position of Professor of Practice at Penn State Altoona, related to his continued work with the Rail Transportation Engineering program, for which he has been a board member since the program’s inception. Rich is also currently an Adjunct Professor of International Business at the Fox School of Business of Temple University in Philadelphia. Rich’s work has been published in several academic and industry journals on topics related to international business, innovative finance, mobility as a service, cybersecurity and payment systems.
Rich holds a Bachelor degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Science degree in Finance from Temple University. He has also been certified as a Project Management Professional and holds a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. Mr. Lobron has directed every mode of transportation – air, marine, highway, mass transit and all forms of rail – freight & passenger – light, heavy, commuter and interstate, through service as a senior executive with Amtrak, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, TX, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and Consolidated Rail Corp. Rich has testified before the U.S. Senate Infrastructure Investment Committee to recommend financial tactics for addressing the nation’s long-term infrastructure financing needs. He also testified before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board on behalf of Class 1 Railroads and negotiated at the U.S. Labor Relations Board to resolve longstanding rail bargaining unit disputes.
In the manufacturing arena, Rich served as CEO for VenTek International, an electronics equipment and systems manufacturer where he resolved concerns on business development, design, development and delivery of new technical systems, as well as service as Director of Business Development for Conduent, Inc., a manufacturer of payment systems. Rich also served as a senior advisor to federal and state governments, including a role as the senior advisor to the Federal Transit Administrator, crafting new methods for the industry to employ innovative financial approaches for capital development, including formation of “Dottie-Fae,” a form of transportation debt securitization through which private dollars could flow toward public infrastructure. He also advised the Governors’ Office, State Treasurer and Transportation Commissioner of the State of New Jersey, installing new methods of capital project management at major state agencies and assisting in crafting solutions for a troubled health care institution – the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he led a President’s task force in revising academic and health service protocols to relieve a serious financial deficit.
Rich and his wife, Mary, launched and have managed their consulting practice, LCL Advisors, Inc. since 1991. The firm provides advice to private and public-sector organizations in identifying, planning, and delivering economic solutions to unique, complex problems including financial, operational, project management, CBD business development and IT technical project deliveries. Through the firm, Rich has authored million-dollar federal grant applications for innovative technologies including urban magnetic levitation rail and infrared identification systems.