John Charles Hertel is a former chairman of the Huron–Clinton Metroparks, chairman of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, and general manager of Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation.

Hertel grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and attended Denby High School.

He raised his family in Harper Woods, Michigan, where he served in the state senate and Wayne County Board of Commissioners, before moving to his current home in Lenox Township, Michigan, where he served as Macomb County Commissioner.

[2]" Hertel was CEO of the Regional Transit Coordinating Council (RTCC) from 2006 to 2010, where he successfully developed and shepherded the Regional Mass Transit Plan to gain approval of Macomb, Oakland, Wayne counties and the City of Detroit.

[3] In 2010, Hertel was hired[4] as General Manager of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART).