By Janet H. Cho
Verra Mobility, the smart mobility technology company says it is looking for a new CEO after 12-year veteran David Roberts agreed to step down.
The news follow's Verra Mobility's disclosure on May 26 that Avis Budget Group was terminating its contract for its toll collection business for its rental cars, effective in September. Verra Mobility generates revenue from the tolls tracked by in-vehicle transponders and the fees rental car drivers pay to manage their tolls, which it then shares with the rental car companies.
Jon Keyser, the company's chief transformation officer since 2025, and executive vice president and chief legal officer since 2022, has been appointed interim president and CEO, Verra Mobility said.
Verra Mobility's board said that "now is the right time to initiate a leadership transition," and that Roberts had agreed to step down immediately. It has hired a global executive search firm to consider internal and external candidates.
Verra Mobility said in May that it revised its guidance for its full-year 2026, expecting total revenue of $985 million to $995 million, down from $1.02 billion to $1.03 billion earlier this month.
Several analysts downgraded its stock after the Avis contract news, noting that Avis Budget was a significant customer of its toll-collection business. Keith Housum, managing director and equity research analyst at Northcoast Research Partners in Cleveland, noted that Avis represented 13.5%, or about $132 million, of Verra's revenue last year, and called the pending loss of that customer "significant."
Roberts said at the time that the company was "surprised and disappointed" to receive the notice from Avis "given our longstanding partnership and the significant time invested by both parties in ongoing extension negotiations." But he also said the company was "confident in the strength of our platform, our ability to continue innovating, and our capacity to meet customers' evolving needs while mitigating the impact of this development."
Verra Mobility, based in Mesa, Az., couldn't be immediately reached about the CEO decision.
"Verra Mobility is at an inflection point, as the Company operates in a dynamic market that continues to evolve and grow," Board Chairman Patrick Byrne said. "As a result, the Board determined that a change in leadership is needed as the Company takes decisive actions to realign its cost structure and position the business for future success. The Board and David therefore agreed to initiate this transition. We're grateful to David for his leadership of the Company over the last 12 years through many milestones, including taking the company public."
In its next CEO, Verra Mobility is "focused on candidates we believe will build on our technology, navigate the evolving market, drive growth and create shareholder value in Verra Mobility's next phase."
Byrne said Keyser is "an experienced commercial leader who brings deep knowledge across all aspects of Verra Mobility's business and a well-rounded perspective to the role."
Keyser said in the same statement that "I believe that Verra Mobility has a strong foundation built on technology that makes our communities safer, smarter and more connected. We will work with urgency to take near-term action to broaden and deepen our customer relationships, reduce costs and position our business for future growth and value creation."
Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 01, 2026 18:49 ET (22:49 GMT)
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