EVP, Payments, Customer, Client & Products

EMA Partners is proud to partner with Metrolinx in the search for an Executive Vice President, Payments, Customer, Client & Products. Metrolinx is an agency of the Government of Ontario, leading one of the largest transit transformations in North America, with a mandate to connect communities through safe, integrated, and customer-focused transportation.

About Metrolinx

As an agency of the Government of Ontario, established under the Metrolinx Act, 2006, Metrolinx is responsible for planning, building, operating, and maintaining an integrated transit network that connects communities across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).

The agency operates GO Transit, Union Pearson Express (UP Express), and the PRESTO fare system, serving millions of people across more than 11,000 square kilometres. Current work includes major subway expansions, new light rail transit projects, increased GO Transit service, and a transformation of the PRESTO system to support greater flexibility, innovation, and seamless service integration.

Metrolinx’s mission is to champion, develop, and implement a world-class transportation system that enhances prosperity, sustainability, and quality of life across the region. Partnering with government institutions, industry partners and communities and the agency is committed to connecting people and places safer, faster and easier.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Chief Payments Officer, the Executive Vice President, Payments, Customer, Client & Products will provide strategic and operational leadership across PRESTO’s three business lines, ensuring the portfolio of products and services is aligned with Metrolinx’s vision and future business model.

This senior executive will oversee product management, customer experience, digital channels, physical devices and client relationships, serving as the single point of accountability for customer and client needs. The EVP will drive innovation in payments and service delivery, advance PRESTO’s commercial strategy, and ensure operational excellence across all areas of responsibility.

As a member of the senior leadership team, the EVP will partner with peers across Metrolinx to deliver value to transit riders, strengthen agency relationships, and help guide PRESTO through transformational change. This is a unique opportunity to lead in a highly complex, high-impact public sector environment, shaping how millions of people experience transit across the GTA.

Why This Mandate is Unique

• Scope & Impact: The opportunity to lead and drive innovation and efficiencies across a breadth of portfolios, spanning payments, product, digital and physical channels, client, and customer experience.
• Board & Executive Exposure: To gain or expand senior executive visibility and communication through engagement with the Board and Senior Management Team (SMT) to influence high-level strategic decisions.
• Purpose with Commercial Drive: To align revenue and growth goals with environmental sustainability, accessibility, and equity for transit customers.
• Team Excellence: To lead a high-performing, collaborative team with exceptional expertise.

Strategic Leadership

• Drive and deliver the long-term vision for Metrolinx’s payment ecosystem, ensuring it aligns with enterprise strategy, government policy, and transit agency priorities, while advancing PRESTO’s business model transformation toward its future state.
• Oversee a broad portfolio that includes digital channels, product, account management, governance, commercial operations, and physical devices.
• Maintain full general management and P&L accountability, ensuring alignment of commercial priorities with customer and stakeholder needs.
• Provide senior oversight for customer, client, and product teams, ensuring KPIs are met, satisfaction levels improve, and development needs are addressed.
• Guide commercial and financial decision-making in partnership with the Commercial Management team, leveraging exceptional relationship-building, negotiation, and influencing skills with the political acuity to operate effectively in highly political and sensitive environments.

Relationship and Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the executive point of accountability for client and customer relationships, issue resolution, and service excellence.
• Build strong partnerships with internal leaders, transit agency partners, government stakeholders, and external organizations, drawing on a deep understanding of government operations and a healthy respect for governance.
• Represent Metrolinx and PRESTO at public meetings, industry events, and external stakeholders and garner support for the organization and its initiatives.
• Provide critical status updates to the PRESTO Chief Payments Officer as well as other members of the executive leadership team.

Operational Excellence

• Drive innovation, process improvement, and adoption of best practices across all business lines.
• Oversee budget management, financial planning, and resource allocation to meet strategic goals.
• Ensure compliance with federal and provincial regulations, corporate policies, and industry standards.
• Promote a positive, collaborative team culture, supporting high engagement, low attrition, and ongoing growth opportunities.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a strategic leader with strong commercial acumen and a degree in Business Administration, Marketing, or a related discipline or a combination of education, training, and experience deemed equivalent. Demonstrating progressive leadership experience, you should possess:

• 10+ years in progressively senior leadership roles, ideally in payments, loyalty, e- commerce, transit, government, or other customer-focused sectors.
• Possess proven experience in marketing, product strategy, customer experience, and large-scale systems implementation.
• Strong financial acumen with full P&L accountability and experience overseeing budgets and commercial decision-making.
• Exceptional relationship building skills with demonstrable experience managing diverse stakeholders, negotiating, and influencing, with the political acuity to operate effectively in complex and sensitive environments.
• A deep understanding of how government bodies operate and the ability to navigate governance with respect and effectiveness.
• Strong knowledge of applying Agile project management principles to lead and coordinate cross-functional teams and consultants across multiple concurrent projects.
• Proven track record of leading, inspiring and motivating high-performing, cross- functional teams.
• A desire and commitment to align public purpose with commercial priorities, advancing environmental benefits, accessibility, and equity for transit customers while engaging a broad range of stakeholders.

Why Join Metrolinx?

• Working along with the Chief Payments Officer, you will provide leadership that empowers colleagues and teams to deliver on PRESTO’s strategic vision and shape the future of one of North America’s largest transit transformations.
• Work in a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative environment.
• Competitive compensation, benefits, and pension package.
• Directly shape the transit experience for millions of riders.

Metrolinx is committed to employment equity and values the diversity of the people it hires and serves. The organization welcomes applicants from all backgrounds and is fully compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

Application Process

All applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada. To apply for this position, we invite you to share your experience, resume and a brief cover letter with Jo Canning, Managing Partner at EMA Partners at jocan@emapartnersna.com.

We truly appreciate the time and effort of everyone who applies and value your interest in this opportunity, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.