SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

During a week in which president and chief executive officer Chip Perry explained how the company is completely revamping how it conducts business with dealers, TrueCar added another executive who also spent time with Autotrader to be its new senior vice president of dealer sales

Tasked with contributing directly to strengthening dealer relationships across the TrueCar Certified Dealer network is Jim Menard, who has experience with not only Autotrader but Search Optics and vAuto as well.

Menard will report to executive vice president of dealer sales and service Brian Skutta, who said “Jim’s dealer-centric focus and breadth of experience across media, software and in-store process makes him a perfect fit for the TrueCar team.

“Jim’s leadership will further enhance TrueCar’s ability to engage our dealer body in order to drive profits and improve the user experience, which will result in a win-win for both dealers and consumers,” Skutta added.

Previously, Menard was president and general manager of the U.S. subsidiary of Search Optics, a global digital marketing provider that specializes in the automotive industry. There, he led the company’s U.S. strategy, working directly with dealers to create sales opportunities. He

Menard joins TrueCar after spending nearly 20 years in the auto industry fostering partnerships with dealerships across the U.S., and has played a pivotal role in shaping the evolution of auto classified listings as it progressed from print into the digital space.

Menard also served as vice president of dealer field sales at AutoTrader, and was vice president and general manager of dealership management software provider vAuto, where he oversaw several acquisitions and consistently delivered year-over-year performance for the company.

“I’m excited about the direction TrueCar is headed and the positive impact it will have on the auto industry,” Menard said.

“I will strive to build an outstanding sales organization that dealers consider an essential partner to their business,” he continued. “TrueCar is poised to develop an even more productive relationship with both dealers and consumers, and I look forward to being a part of the process."

The direction Menard referenced changed significantly earlier this week when Perry revealed a series of sweeping changes to TrueCar’s product offering, data policies, billing model and practices, consumer-facing advertising and website messaging — plus plans to hire more than 100 field services consultants to help dealers get the most out of TrueCar.