PayIt hires former Uber disruptive marketing leader as KC govtech startup’s first CMO
August 6, 2019 | Startland News Staff
Kansas City-based govtech startup PayIt is downloading executive expertise from the West Coast, John Thomson said Tuesday, announcing PayIt’s first chief marketing officer — a former leader at Uber.
PayIt’s Elevator Pitch
PayIt is simplifying doing business with state, local, and federal government through its award-winning digital government and payment platform. Along with our government partners, we are transforming the customer experience and making government more modern, convenient, and mobile.
Based in San Francisco, Alexandru Otrezov will lead PayIt’s marketing organization and continue to accelerate the company’s brand and growth efforts, said Thomson, co-founder and CEO of PayIt, a headline-grabbing digital government and payment platform.
“Alex is a world-class marketing executive that cares deeply about PayIt’s mission to ‘Simplify Government,’” he added. “We’re thrilled to have Alex join us at this exciting time as we continue to accelerate the pace of innovation in digitizing government services.”
Otrezov most recently served as head of search and experimentation at Uber, where he led teams responsible for growth across all Uber brands, according to a PayIt press release. He previously worked as senior director of search operations at Expedia, and served in numerous leadership roles at several startups which exited through strategic acquisitions.
“I am extremely excited about the disruptive solution PayIt brings to simplify the customer experience with our government partners,” Otrezov said. “With the help of our experienced leadership team, I am looking forward to introducing our award winning platform into every consumer’s life. I believe that by improving accessibility to government services, we can improve the quality of life for many.”
Led by Thomson and Mike Plunkett, co-founder and COO/CFO, PayIt secured a more than $100 million investment from New York-based Insight Partners in March. Just two months later, the startup received $25 million in follow-on investment by Tampa-based Weatherford Capital.
Thomson indicated in March the company would focus on growing its team to better meet PayIt’s goal to be a transformative force in the govtech space.
Click here to read more about PayIt’s big investment.
Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Prepped for Phase 2: How a New Orleans-inspired caterer grew organically into a KC kitchen collective
Food is a way to bring communities together, share cultural traditions and teach individuals about the importance of a healthy, ethically-sourced meal, said Dr. Karen Patrice Boyd. “My passion is teaching. Yes, I produce great food. But at the end of the day, I can impact the community more in terms of their knowledge and…
Cafe Cà Phê returns to the West Bottoms with second location for KC’s popular Vietnamese coffee shop
A Cafe Cà Phê satellite location inside 12th Street Post in the West Bottoms is the perfect step for continuing the mission of Kansas City’s only Vietnamese coffee shop, shared founder Jackie Nguyen. Just shy of the one year anniversary of its Columbus Park space, Cafe Cà Phê celebrated the grand opening of its new…
She wanted to bring her favorite foodie magazine to KC; her mother’s sudden death put this publisher’s plans on the back burner
Lauren Cook’s passion for Edible Communities magazine drove her appetite to revive it in Kansas City, she shared, but an unexpected life change has her hoping to hand the publisher’s apron to someone else. Cook purchased the license to publish the city-specific food magazine — each independently run by publishers in metros across the country…
Digital Sandbox alum earns new round of funding — this time for sports tech; Meet the latest batch of just-funded startups
From making the college admissions process easier for students to summarizing books and podcasts using artificial intelligence, the latest startups to join Digital Sandbox KC are a great example of the creativity of this region’s entrepreneurs, said Jill Meyer. The four newly selected companies are expected to receive up to $20,000 in project funding and…

