Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has appointed Charlie Zelle to be the new MnDOT Commissioner, effective January 15, 2013.
Zelle is president and CEO of Jefferson Lines, which provides travel services in 13 Midwestern states. His family founded the company in 1919. It serves more that 60 Minnesota cities and specializes in connecting rural areas to destinations across North America.
He currently serves as the chairman of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Corridors of Opportunity Policy Board and a member of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce board of directors. He also is a board member and chairman of the policy committee of the American Bus Association, and he has served on the executive committee of the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies.
Zelle succeeds Tom Sorel, who resigned on December 1 to be the CEO of AAA Minneapolis.