John Cogliano

Secretary, Executive Office of Transportation

Governor Mitt Romney appointed John Cogliano as Secretary of Transportation in May of 2005. As Transportation Secretary, Cogliano heads the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT), an agency with $1.4 billion in annual operating expenditures, a $1.4 billion capital program, and purview over 8,600 employees. In his capacity as Secretary, Cogliano serves as the Chair of the MBTA Board of Directors. He also has direct oversight of the Massachusetts Highway Department, the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission.

Prior to being appointed as Secretary, Cogliano served as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Highway Department. As Commissioner, he managed more than 1,800 employees and a budget of $700 million. During his tenure, Cogliano advanced a number of the Romney Administration’s key initiatives, such as implementing the Fix it First and Communities First policies, streamlining operations and reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies at the Highway Department, and breaking ground on the project to eliminate the Sagamore Rotary. He also helped develop the Romney Administration’s Long-Range Transportation Plan, which calls for $31 billion in transportation improvements over the next 20 years and will serve as a blueprint for carrying out projects and policies under his Secretariat.

Before being appointed Highway Department Commissioner in 2002, Cogliano held a number of senior management posts at the agency. Secretary Cogliano also worked for five years at the Massachusetts Division of Capital Planning and Operations and at his family-owned business on the South Shore of Massachusetts.

Secretary Cogliano graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science and later studied Administration and Management at Harvard University.