Passport, a local transportation software company, has a new face on its executive team.
David Evans took over as president effective Tuesday. He will oversee development of Passport's platform to position it for more rapid growth. Evans will report to CEO Bob Youakim. He is moving back to Charlotte, having previously lived here for more than a decade.
"I have a lot of passion around Charlotte and the opportunity to insert a little bit more economic diversification through (the) means of technology is a lot of where I've spent my time over the last 30 years or so," Evans said.
The president role is a newly defined one at Passport. Those responsibilities were shared among various leaders.
Prior to Passport, Evans was the chief financial officer at Cardlytics (NASDAQ: CDLX), helping to scale the company and complete its initial public offering in 2018. He was most recently the chief administrative officer there. Evans also worked in investment banking at Wells Fargo Securities, focusing on financial-technology and software sectors.
Transportation software remains a fragmented industry, Evans said. He wants to see Passport gain more market share as a disruptor. The platform needs to succeed in safety and scalability, he said.
Passport ranked No. 1,007 on last year's Inc. 5000 list, posting a three-year growth rate of 457%. It landed at No. 12 on CBJ's Fast 50 list, which ranks Charlotte's fast-growing private businesses.
Passport's services are used by more than 1,000 cities, universities and agencies. It specializes in parking enforcement, payments, permitting and, more recently, delved into micromobility with e-scooters and bicycles.
"This is a business and an industry that's experiencing nice adoption and should benefit from nice tailwinds from a recovering economy," Evans said. "There is demand for this, and there is a need for this."
Evans said Passport will continue building out its team for scalability, although he did not say if that would mean growth in its net headcount. The firm was forced to lay off and furlough employees starting last March when the pandemic hit. It was approved in April for a $4.9 million Paycheck Protection Program loan.
