After 45 years working for the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, President and CEO Tom Lambert has announced plans to retire from the agency at the end of 2023.

Lambert stepped into his current role in 2013, making him METRO's longest-serving president and CEO. He will continue with the agency until Dec. 31, 2023, according to a Feb. 2 press release.

“I have been blessed to have worked with talented staff, a dedicated board and a wonderful community of partners to provide outstanding multimodal transit options to this region. But after nearly 45 years at METRO, now is the right time to retire,” Lambert said in the release.

Lambert joined METRO in its first full year of operation in 1979 and later became the METRO Police Department’s first chief of police. He has also served as the agency’s chief administrative officer and executive vice president.

“METRO and the region have benefited tremendously from Tom's leadership and service. I certainly understand his desire to close out his very successful career at METRO and spend more time with his family,” METRO Board Chair Sanjay Ramabhadran said in the release.