David L. Gunn (born June 21, 1937) is a transportation system administrator who has headed several significant railroads and transit systems in North America. He was director of operations of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) from 1975 to 1979, general manager and chief operations officer of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) from 1979 to 1984, president of the New York City Transit Authority from 1984 to 1990, the general manager at WMATA (the Washington Metro) from 1991 to 1994, and chief general manager of the Toronto Transit Commission in Canada from 1995 to 1999. Gunn assumed the presidency of Amtrak on May 15, 2002, and held the position until political upheaval at the company in 2005. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, Gunn retired to his family home on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. He is currently associated with the Free Congress Foundation and the board of the Strait Area Transit Cooperative transit service in rural Richmond County, among other roles. Early life and education Gunn was born in Boston to parents of Canadian ancestry whose families had emigrated to Massachusetts from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Gunn was educated at Phillips Academy in Andover and received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Harvard College in 1959. He served in the United States Navy Reserve from 1959 to 1962. He received a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1964. Career Early positions (1964 to 1984) The following were Gunn's early positions, many related to railways: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, 1964 to 1967 New York Central Railroad, 1967 to 1968 Assistant vice-president, Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, 1969 to 1974 Director of commuter rail, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), 1974 to 1975 Director of operations, MBTA, 1975 to 1979 General manager and chief operations officer, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), 1979 to 1984 New York City Transit Authority (1984 to 1990) He was president of New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), 1984 to 1990, and according to The New York Times, Gunn is credited with turning around the New York City subway system in the late 1980s." During his tenure as president of the NYCTA, Gunn instituted operational changes that led to the reduction of graffiti and service improvements in the New York City Subway system, including the establishment of a "clean car program" and restoring the system to