Daniel Gorey is a Genfare Business Development Lead serving transit agencies across the Eastern U.S. As a go-to resource on solutions architecture and modern fare payment processing, Daniel places a high value on listening to transit agencies’ perspectives and understanding their needs. The positive impact he’s had on agency partners’ success has earned him the 2023 Genfare President’s Award.
Daniel is also an outdoorsman and adventurous traveler! Read the employee spotlight to learn more about how he helps agencies modernize fare collection, his recent world tour, and what it’s like to have a manta ray swim above you while scuba diving.
You’ve taken a 9-month hiatus to explore the world! What’s it like to be back?
I’m excited to be back and happy to continue the relationships I’ve built and to establish new connections. I want to be a resource for our agency partners and find solutions or the right point of contact. I’m ready to reconnect.
Where did you go and what inspired you to travel?
My wife, Paige, and I went to Tasmania, Thailand, Bali, New Zealand, and we stayed in Australia for over five months. I became a scuba divemaster on the Great Barrier Reef, we climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and saw an opera in the Sydney Opera House. We also learned to surf in Bali and hiked through New Zealand’s South Island, among other adventures.
This trip was on my bucket list. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve wanted to see places in the world that I had never seen, and I’m a really big fan of hiking and backpacking. Plus, Paige and I wanted to do this before we started a family. We were putting ourselves in situations that would be a little bit more challenging when you’ve got small children. When we were in Australia for example, a good portion of the time we were living in a rooftop tent in the car.
Where did you get your start in public transit?
I was working in call analytics and attribution software, and SPX Technologies (Genfare’s parent company) recruited me with a mobile ticketing opportunity.
How does your philosophy background support your work in technology?
A lot of schooling today teaches people to do specific tasks but doesn’t really teach them how to think. I studied philosophy and marketing, and my philosophy degree really taught me how to question and think through a complex problem with many variables.
At Genfare, I was initially focused on mobile ticketing, and then I moved into selling full solutions. My background helps me to recognize and account for the unknowns. Then I can work with agency partners to find channels to make improvements and identify opportunities. The transit industry also has a long history, so we need to account for legacy when moving into modern technology. I try to aim for a balanced approach.
Tell us how you’ve helped to simplify payment processing options for agencies.
When I was in mobile ticketing sales, I was constantly running into the question of where the payment would go. There was a big interest in having Genfare manage payment processing services, and we decided to explore what that would look like. We partnered with a bank and then brought it in-house as GenPay, so that customers don’t need to contract independently with a payment processor. That simplifies setup and compliance for them.
GenPay is an integrated payment path used across Genfare’s fare collection products. Agency customers can use credit cards and debit cards directly on our Fast Fare fareboxes and ticket vending machines, make payments via administrative point of sale (APOS) systems for bank cards and other channels like mobile ticketing and online customer platforms.
How do you keep strong connections with agency partners?
People want to be heard. You can’t help to solve a problem if you don’t understand it, so I actively listen so that we can come together with solutions. To strengthen relationships, you take ownership of any challenges that might arise and work to see where there’s a path forward that is mutually beneficial.
What makes you excited to come to work each day?
We’ve grown a lot as a company since I joined about eight years ago, and since Eric Kaled, CEO, came onboard. It feels like I was a part of that. The sales cycles are long in the transit industry, and relationships take time to develop. Even though I may have worked sometimes behind the scenes, solving problems is something that really excites me and I have the opportunity to do that in sales.
Let’s learn a bit about your personal history. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois, in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, with two sisters and an older brother. I went to school at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. After that, I moved to Chicago and have pretty much lived here ever since. I live on the north side of the city.
You have adventurous hobbies! Where do you snowboard and scuba dive?
I’m mostly in Colorado for snowboarding, and I try to go on two trips or so a year. I scuba dive a fair bit in the Caribbean, and then I have done some in Southeast Asia and Australia.
Where did you learn to scuba dive?
Indoors in Illinois! My first outside diving experience was in St. John’s in the U.S. Virgin Islands. And my most recent experience was in Nusa Penida, an island in Indonesia.
Any amazing things you’ve seen underwater?
While on the Great Barrier Reef, I saw probably 22 sharks in one hour on a night dive; that was pretty incredible. And then in Nusa Penida, I saw about 10 manta rays and that was just breathtaking. You hear about how big they are, but to have them swim over you and have them be the size of a car is incredible.
