PayByPhone Appoints New Chief Technology Officer to Support Next Phase of Growth

PayByPhone, a global leader in mobile parking payments, appoints Otavio Ferreira as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) effective October 1, 2025. Ferreira joins the PayByPhone Management Board, reporting to John Gallagher, Chief Information Officer, International Vehicle Payments (IVP) at Corpay. Ferreira takes over from Jean-Pierre LeBlanc who becomes Vice President, Product.

Gallagher says, “I am delighted to welcome Otavio to the Corpay IVP IT Leadership team as he takes over from Jean-Pierre LeBlanc as the new CTO for PayByPhone. Otavio has been the Senior Director of Engineering at PayByPhone since he joined in November 2024 where he has been instrumental in the evolution of PayByPhone’s technology team and the development of new technology and systems that are driving our future growth. I would also like to thank Jean-Pierre for his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to the team. He has transformed the PayByPhone technology organization and core technical capabilities during his tenure as CTO, and I wish him well in his new role in the company.”

Jonny Combe, President and CEO of PayByPhone, says, “Since joining PayByPhone, Otavio has demonstrated impressive technical leadership and a deep commitment to our clients’ needs. His passion for raising standards is evident in everything he does, and his leadership style, shaped by experience across Latin America, South Africa, India, and North America, naturally fosters inclusivity and collaboration. Building on the strong foundation established by Jean-Pierre, Otavio is well positioned to further strengthen PayByPhone as we enter our next phase of growth.”

Ferreira, a Brazilian-Canadian national, brings extensive global experience in payment infrastructure, having served as CTO for e-commerce operations in Brazil. He has also held senior leadership roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Canada, where he led application integration and storage business units supporting Amazon’s largest financial customers and their PCI-compliant workloads across 35 geographic regions worldwide. Ferreira holds a Master of Science in Software Engineering from the University of São Paulo (USP), and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP).

Ferreira says, “Over the past year I have gained a deep understanding of our clients’ realities, and the technical friction points they face within mobility payments. This is a rapidly evolving and exciting space, but one that is also becoming more complex. My experience at PayByPhone, combined with my earlier roles shaping cloud and payment infrastructure on a global scale, has prepared me well for our next phase of growth. I am honored to take on the role of CTO and look forward to delivering solutions that not only enhance the parking experience but also support the broader mobility payment needs of our clients.”

LeBlanc, who has served as CTO since June 2024, led a major transformation of PayByPhone’s technology organization, culminating in the complete rebuild and relaunch of the PayByPhone app in August 2024. In his new role as Vice President, Product, reporting to Combe, his experience and passion for innovation will continue to guide the evolution of PayByPhone’s product portfolio.

Combe says, “When Jean-Pierre joined PayByPhone, he was tasked with an ambitious challenge: to transform technology at PayByPhone and to prepare us for that phase of our journey. With his characteristic and self-professed ‘obsession’ for PayByPhone, coupled with the possibilities that were ahead of us and his relentless determination, he not only delivered extraordinary improvements in our technology, but also built a stronger, more capable organization. His ability to inspire through vision and passion has been remarkable. I look forward to the accelerative strides we can expect now he leads our product organization.”

To learn more about PayByPhone, visit www.paybyphone.com. Follow PayByPhone on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About PayByPhone 

PayByPhone’s aim is simple: simplify your journey so you can focus on what matters most. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, it is one of the fastest-growing mobile payments companies in the world, processing more than $550 million in payments and over 5 million downloads per year. Available in more than 1,200 cities across the globe, PayByPhone helps millions of consumers easily and safely pay for parking without the hassles of coins, lines, or fines. Its smart, intuitive technology is at the center of its user-first approach, delivered to make everything as simple as possible. For more information, please visit www.paybyphone.com