Kolluri was chief of staff to New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere. In this capacity, he served as counselor to the Commissioner and managed the development and implementation of the department's legislative and regulatory policies and communications strategies. Prior to working in state government, Kolluri held a variety of top positions in Congressional offices. Most recently he served as senior policy advisor to House Democratic Leader
Richard A. Gephardt, heading the Member Support Program which was established to help freshman Members of Congress design and implement long-term strategic initiatives. In early 1998, Kolluri was tapped to be special advisor to Congressman Gephardt on
India and Indian-American affairs. Before he worked for Congressman Gephardt, Kolluri served as Congressman
Robert E. Andrews' Legislative Director and his principal staffer on the International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. Since a 2006 constitutional amendment, New Jersey has had a lieutenant governor, second in the line of succession. The position was first filled by
Kim Guadagno, elected with
Chris Christie in November 2009. Kolluri formerly served as head of the
New Jersey Schools Development Authority, having taken office as of December 1, 2008, where he succeeded Scott Weiner. Kolluri was the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the
Gateway Development Commission, an agency formed under the auspices of the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to construct a new
railroad tunnel under the
Hudson River connecting the
U.S. states of
New York and
New Jersey, serving between June 2022 and July 2024.
NJ Transit On December 9, 2024, it was announced that Kevin Corbett would resign from NJ Transit on January 15, 2025 with Kris Kolluri replacing him. On January 16, 2025, Kolluri was appointed interim president and CEO of
NJ Transit, the largest
mass transit agency in New Jersey, to serve through the remainder of
Governor Phil Murphy's term in office ending in January 2026. Following the election of
Mikie Sherrill it was announced that Kolluri would continue his role as president and CEO of NJ Transit alongside potentially being appointed as Executive Director of the
New Jersey Turnpike Authority pending approval by the NJTA board. Kolluri was voted and assumed the role of Executive Director on February 9, 2026. ==See also==