ITD Director Ness announced on Wednesday, March 1 that Travis McGrath has been selected as ITD’s new Chief Operations Officer following a thorough national search during the last several months. He is expected to start in late March.
Travis comes to ITD from the private sector. He has been the Pacific Northwest and Alaska “Operations Leader” at Golder Associates the past seven years and with the company for nearly 20 years.
“What stood out about Travis was his ability as a strong communicator and consensus builder, his strong decision-making experience and his understanding of the engineering side of operations, along with his diverse business background,” said Director Ness. “Travis has shown a history of setting the vision and holding those around him accountable throughout his career.”
Travis said he’s excited to move from Seattle area to serve ITD and the people of Idaho. He plans to begin this new chapter of his career at the end of March.
“I was intrigued by ITD’s recent transformation, which is impressive by any measure,” said McGrath. “I’ve held operational leadership roles in two diverse settings (US Army and consulting engineering) and recently navigated through a major organizational change like ITD’s. I believe that these experiences, along with my passion for teamwork and continual improvement, will help ITD continue its important mission through pursuit of innovation, risk management, and focusing on results.”
Travis brings a strong military background to this position. He served as a Combat Engineer Officer for more than a decade on active duty and as a reserve. He led a platoon during both Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.
Travis replaces Jim Carpenter who served ITD for more than 31 years the last three-and-a-half as Chief Operations Officer.