Jim Ray

Jim serves as Corporate President and is a member of the Board of Directors for HNTB Corporation, providing financial, policy, and legal advisory to transportation executives for strategic management of capital assets and infrastructure investment. With more than two decades of practice in national and international business and government, Jim guides clients in critical decision-making with his extensive experience working within and shaping regulatory and operational frameworks. Specialties include innovative project delivery, intelligent transportation solutions, and deployment of data for systematic transformation. Jim's unique depth of knowledge includes leveraging funding and financing tools such as private capital, municipal debt, and government financing to design and deliver large-scale and mission-critical projects. Jim is a recognized thought leader and a frequent speaker on present-day and future-looking infrastructure matters, including emerging trends and disruptive technologies, shifts in urban mobility, transit-oriented development, and innovative finance. Prior to HNTB, Jim served as former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao's Senior Advisor for Infrastructure, Acting Administrator for the Federal Highway Administration and Deputy General Counsel for the White House Office of Management and Budget. Jim currently serves on the Board of Directors for ESS.