PayByPhone Names Jonny Combe as New Global CEO

Global parking payments company PayByPhone announced Thursday (June 30) that it has promoted Jonny Combe to global chief executive officer, effective August 1.

Combe was previously a member of the company’s senior leadership team. During a transition at the Vancouver, Canada-based company, Combe will work alongside current CEO Andy Gruber, who is departing after four years to join PayByPhone’s corporate parent, Volkswagen Financial Services AG.

Combe will also report to a supervisory board led by Stefan Imme, the chief digital officer of Volkswagen Financial Services, that will include Gruber.

“The journey of growth and development that Andy has led over his four years has been incredible,” Imme said in a press release. PayByPhone more than doubled its number of active monthly accounts and expanded from five to 11 countries during Gruber’s tenure.

“As we evolve and grow, I want to drive our ethos of simplifying our clients’ and customers’ journeys … We are in a unique position: PayByPhone is the only player in our industry to have an app that can be used globally, in nearly 1,300 cities,” Combe said in the release. “The possibilities for continued growth and success are outstanding.”

Combe, who previously held several management roles at BMW Group, will also relocate to Vancouver from the United Kingdom. Per the release, PaybyPhone processes more than $740 million payments annually and is downloaded more than 5 million times per year.

In May, PayByPhone announced its parking app was expanding in Germany and Italy just as vacationers were planning post-COVID summer holidays.

Read more: Parking Payments App PayByPhone Adds 470 Cities in Germany, Italy

“As people finally venture out on their long-awaited holidays, adding almost 500 cities from Germany and Italy to the PayByPhone app is just one more way we’re simplifying their journeys,” Gruber said at the time. “PayByPhone’s 50 million users can now use our app to pay for parking in big European tourist destinations like Berlin or Napoli, in addition to existing cities like Paris, London, and Amsterdam.”