Overview
Organization: VIA Metropolitan Transit
Leader: Jeff Arndt, CEO
Partnership Period: Multi-year cultural transformation
Industry: Public Transportation
The Challenge
VIA Metropolitan Transit faced a significant barrier to fulfilling its community mission: a deeply entrenched organizational culture spanning more than 40 years. This stagnated culture was preventing VIA from taking its deserved place as a relevant force in the San Antonio community. Historic silos limited cross-functional collaboration, and the organization struggled to embrace a more innovative, empowered workplace model necessary for modern transit agencies.
CEO Jeff Arndt, recognized that breaking through these cultural limits would require external partnership and expertise. The transformation would not just be about new programs or initiatives – it would require fundamental change in how the organization operated, led, and innovated.
The Partnership Approach
Arndt partnered with Genesis Eakes International (GEI) to create the conditions necessary for sustainable transformation. The engagement focused on:
Developing Senior Leadership
GEI worked with VIA’s senior executive leadership team to envision a better way forward. This included making strategic changes to the team composition and building their capacity to lead transformation rather than simply manage operations.
Navigating Complexity with Persistence
GEI helped VIA strategically establish and maintain focus on the vision and intended outcome even when the path forward was not linear, demonstrating the commitment required for deep cultural change.
Building Empowerment Throughout
After identifying what was truly blocking progress, GEI facilitated trust-building work with the VIA senior executive team, giving them confidence in the empowered workplace model, coaching them to become mentors and facilitators of the transformation—equipping them to cascade the change throughout the organization.
Sustaining Momentum Under Pressure
GEI remained engaged as a strategic partner helping VIA navigate changes as the transformation unfolded, ensuring that momentum wasn’t lost when the organization faced the inevitable pressures of real-world implementation.
The Transformation
The cultural shift at VIA manifested in tangible ways:
Breaking Down Silos: Walls between departments and external partners came down, enabling cross-functional collaboration that had previously been impossible.
Creative Problem-Solving: New ideas began flowing freely between external partners and across the organization, with teams empowered to innovate rather than waiting for top-down direction.
Accelerated Execution: The entire organization increased its capacity to tackle ambitious timelines and complex challenges enabling them to deliver the results their community needs ensuring VIA’s relevance for years to come.
“My legacy is not found in my name on metal plates on facilities we completed over my tenure. It is found in the offices and on the buses that serve San Antonio. And I fully acknowledge that Genesis Eakes International provided the background, wisdom and fortitude to help me make this final leg of my career the most positive and impactful.”
Jeff Arndt, CEO, VIA Metropolitan Transit
The Outcome
Major Achievement: $268 Million Federal Grant
One of the most visible outcomes of the VIA transformation was the historic pursuit and award of a $268 million full-funding grant agreement for San Antonio’s first rapid transit line. This achievement required:
- Cross-functional teamwork with external and internal stakeholders
- Creative problem-solving under pressure
- Beating an already accelerated timeline
The grant agreement was executed on December 18, 2024, marking a significant milestone for VIA and San Antonio.d San Antonio.
Sustainable Cultural Change
Beyond any single project, the transformation created a new organizational culture capable of carrying programs forward and creating an even stronger vision for the community’s transit future. The changes were not dependent on any individual leader – they became embedded in how VIA operates.
The Difference
This transformation demonstrates Genesis Eakes International’s core approach: partnering with leaders to build transformational cultures that carry the future. Rather than implementing programs for VIA, Genesis equipped leaders at every level to do the transformational work themselves – ensuring that the change would outlast any individual tenure and continue creating value for the San Antonio community for years to come.