A hearty congratulations to Dave Herrell for being voted by our readers as the Most Influential Business Leader in the Quad Cities. It is well deserved.
Our editorial board also annually selects who we think is the most influential, regardless of reader input. This year we selected Jeff Nelson, who recently retired after 42 years as CEO and managing director of MetroLINK.
Mr. Nelson’s impact over the past four decades did not slow down during his final year as CEO in 2025. His accomplishments and dedication to the Quad Cities have been transformative even after his retirement earlier this fall when he traveled to Springfield to advocate for critical legislation to advance passenger rail in Illinois. That bill passed last month in part as the result of his years of influence and decades of advocacy.
Under his guidance, MetroLINK received the American Public Transportation Association’s Outstanding Public Transportation System Award, along with numerous national and state honors. They included the Federal Transit Administration’s State Leadership Award, the APTA Bus Safety Gold Award, Metro Magazine’s Innovation of the Year Award, the Mark Schwiebert Sustainability Award and the NAACP Business Image Award, according to a MetroLINK news blog.
Mr. Nelson also has been awarded the Illinois Public Transportation Association Lifetime Achievement Award and the River Action Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Jeff’s leadership has been nothing short of visionary,” said Dave Krouth, chair of the MetroLINK Board of Trustees, in the blog. “He has elevated MetroLINK’s role as not only a transit provider, but as a catalyst for regional growth, economic opportunity and innovation.”
Mr. Nelson said in an Oct. 27 Quad Cities Regional Business Journal article that his time in transportation has taught him that big projects carry long timelines. Take, for example, that ongoing quest to win passenger rail service from Chicago to Moline. Most rail projects take 20 years from start to finish, and MetroLINK has been a critical part of that process in building the Q intermodal passenger rail station in downtown Moline. The Illinois General Assembly voted to approve nearly $340 million in state funding to move rail service forward, thanks in part to Mr. Nelson and his years of support and encouragement.
Mr. Nelson has done far more than run a network of buses, though those buses have aided other sectors and quality-of-life issues.
Under his leadership, MetroLink brought the Channel Cat Water Taxi to life and worked to offer service where choices were few, such as to the Quad-Cities International Airport. He has served on a multitude of boards and organizations, not just locally but at the state and national levels.
He built an impressive infrastructure for passengers: Centre Station, new downtown East Moline and Rock Island stations, upgraded bus stops and high-tech route communications. It seems clear he’s an environmentalist at heart, leading the way to replace the gas fleet with compressed natural gas-fueled buses and electric buses. He transformed a sleepy bus system into a model organization in the transit industry.
This recognition as our most influential business person in the Quad Cities is another feather in his much celebrated cap.
