Passport hires new executive to lead M&A and partnership efforts

Igor Karpovich is the latest executive hire at Passport, the world’s leader in mobile payments in the transportation industry. Karpovich has been named the chief corporate development officer.

The company raised $43 million in Series C investment from Bain Capital Ventures in December. At that time, Passport made a commitment to hire at least 50 employees this year, aggressively seeking the best talent to meet the needs of clients, expand its global reach and accelerate product growth and innovation. The company has since added more than 20 team members, including recent hires Meredith Cage, vice president of product, and Duncan Mapes, vice president of engineering.

Karpovich, the newest executive team member, comes to Passport with a wealth of international business experience. He had most recently served as the senior vice president of Verifone in London. After earning his MBA from Harvard Business School, he led teams for companies such as GE Capital, where he was the vice president of strategy and business development; Citigroup Global Wealth Management as the managing director of global business development and head of venture banking for Sberbank in Moscow. He also founded two companies as an entrepreneur.

“The transportation industry has been undergoing a tremendous shift in recent years and Passport is in a unique position to continue to lead the charge in mobility and payments,” said Bob Youakim, Passport CEO. “With the addition of Igor, we will accelerate our strategic growth initiatives and international expansion efforts to support our continued growth trajectory.”

About Passport

Passport transforms the way cities manage their operations. The fintech company’s mobile-first platform has been adopted by more than 500 cities, universities, and private operators around the world in cities including Chicago, Toronto, London, and Miami, across more than 5,000 locations. Passport’s product lines —– parking, transit and tolling payments, parking enforcement, and permit management —– enable organizations in the public and private sectors to streamline their operations, enhance customer service, and make data-driven decisions. Consistently recognized as one of the fastest growing companies and Best Places to Work in Charlotte, North Carolina, Passport has an ingrained practice of putting People First —– a guiding principle in its Culture.