Charlotte-based Passport is making more changes to the C-suite as it positions for growth ahead.
Passport, a transportation software company, has named Sathish Gaddipati as its chief technology officer. He started on Feb. 4. As CTO, Gaddipati will lead data products strategy and engineering. He will report to CEO David Evans and be based in Atlanta.
Gaddipati was CTO at Syntellis Performance Solutions for about a year. Prior to that, he held a similar role at Cardlytics Inc. (NASDAQ: CDLX), a $2.3 billion company that went public in 2018.
Brad Powers, who was CTO at Passport for nearly a decade, is transitioning into a role as chief innovation officer, focusing on product stack. He will continue to report to Evans and remain based in Charlotte. The CIO position is new for the company.
Powers said having separate CTO and CIO roles allows him to focus more on the creation side. Gaddipati's team will handle implementation.
"When great people with great experiences want to join your team, you figure out how to make it happen, and it's going to be a great time," Powers said.
Passport sees big opportunities in understanding the curb as an asset and using it most effectively, such as for parking or deliveries. It wants the curb to bring value to cities and users, Powers said. Micromobility, or using scooters, will also continue to be part of Passport's platform, he said. The firm focuses on parking, payments, permitting and enforcement.
Powers sees parking payments, for example, moving away from apps in the next decade and becoming a more predictive, efficient process. Gaddipati likened it to the Amazon Go system that enables shopping at cashierless stores.
Passport, founded in 2010, works with more than 800 clients across North America.
This is one of multiple recent changes to Passport's executive team. Last September, the firm hired Doug Rogers as chief revenue officer, replacing co-founder Khristian Gutierrez. Earlier in 2021, Evans took over the top role from co-founder Bob Youakim. The company also named Vanna Krantz, a former Disney executive, as its chief financial officer that year, replacing Hunter Louis.
Passport's growth trajectory accelerated last year when it secured $90 million in capital from Sixth Street Growth. That round brought the company's total capital raised to more than $200 million. At the time, Evans said Passport would use the funding to invest in talent, including leadership roles, and product innovation.
Powers said the firm is good to go on capital for now.
