TrueCar has hired former Autotrader executive Paul Edmonds as its senior vice president of dealer marketing and operations.

His most recent post was at RiskIQ, an external threat Internet security company where he had been since December 2014.

Prior to that, Edmonds had been in various roles with Autotrader and Trader Publishing Co. for 15 years.

His positions at Autotrader included various account management, sales and training posts and such executive roles as vice president of sales operations and new business initiatives.

Edmonds’ position just before joining RiskIQ was as a divisional vice president of sales.  When he officially joins the TrueCar team this month, he will report to Brian Skutta, the executive vice president of dealer sales and service who joined TrueCar on Feb. 29. 

(Skutta had been chief executive officer of AutoAlert since 2014. His prior roles include heading up the launch and growth of the Trade-In Marketplace at  Autotrader, and his post as vice president and general manager of VINSolutions after Autotrader’s purchase of the company.)

“Paul’s deep experience serving dealers, along with his proven track record of consistently driving operational success, make him an ideal addition to TrueCar,” Skutta said in a news release. “His leadership will prove invaluable as we continue to ramp up our service and support model to better serve our dealers.”

The hiring of Edmonds coincides with TrueCar expanding its dealer support and services, the company said. That includes hiring 100 or more field service consultants, which are part of the Dealer Pledge program TrueCar revealed in March.

Edmonds' responsibilities in the new post will be to “work to bridge the gap between the company’s consumer product and its valued dealer customers,” TrueCar said in its news release.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build on the strong foundation that exists in operations, sales, support and service at TrueCar, and to create a program that will be second to none in the industry from a customer experience perspective,” Edmonds said. “We’re in a unique position to build an experience that delights both the consumer and our dealer partners at the same time.”