Gov. Appoints Wellesley College Grad to MassDOT BOD

Submitted by the office of Gov. Deval Patrick

Governor Deval Patrick today appointed Robin Chase to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Board of Directors. Chase is the founder and former CEO of Zipcar, the largest car-sharing company in the world, Buzzcar, a car-sharing marketplace in France and GoLoco, an online ridesharing community. She serves as the Executive Chairman of Veniam Works, a vehicle mesh communications company.

“Robin has brought inspired leadership and world class innovation to the field of transportation,” said Gov. Patrick. “Her vision and expertise will be a great addition to the important deliberations of the MassDOT Board.”
Chase serves on the Board of the World Resources Institute, the National Advisory Council for Innovation & Entrepreneurship for the US Department of Commerce, and the OECD’s International Transport Forum Advisory Board. She previously served on the Intelligent Transportations Systems Program Advisory Committee for the US Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Governor’s Transportation Transition Working Group, and Boston Mayor’s Wireless Task Force.

A recipient of several awards in the areas of innovation, design and environment, Chase has been included on the Time 100 Most Influential People, Fast Company’s Fast 50 Innovators and Business Week’s Top 10 Designers.

Chase graduated from Wellesley College and MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She was a Harvard University Loeb Fellow and received an honorary Doctorate of Design from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
She will replace outgoing MassDOT board member Alan MacDonald.

The MassDOT Board of Directors is a seven-member board appointed by the Governor with expertise in transportation, finance and engineering. The Board serves as the governing body of both MassDOT and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). MassDOT is administered by the Secretary of Transportation, who serves as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors.