President Barack Obama announced his nominees to head the Federal Highway Administration and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, both part of the Department of Transportation.
A key post still missing is someone to head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Victor M. Mendez is the nominee for administrator of FHWA. Peter H. Appel is the nominee to head up the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

Mendez was a member of former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's Cabinet as the director of the Arizona Department of Transportation. He has extensive experience in transportation including innovations in the areas of funding and financing, technology, infrastructure, research, planning and internal operations.

Mendez has served as a past president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and in 2008 he was selected as Leader of the Year in Public Policy in Transportation by the Arizona Capitol Times. Previously, Mendez was selected as the deputy state engineer to lead the implementation of the Phoenix area's multi-billion dollar freeway system.

Appel is a principal with the global management consulting firm of A.T. Kearney Inc. He has led business improvement initiatives for clients in the private and public sectors, with a focus on transportation and infrastructure. Appel has over 20 years of experience in transportation, and has supported organizations in the railroad, trucking, airline, and ocean shipping industries with growth strategy, supply chain improvement, post-merger integration, public-private partnerships, and other key business and policy issues.

Previously, Appel served as the special assistant to the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, and as assistant director for Pricing and Yield Management at Amtrak.