ATLANTA -

In a trio of moves first reported by Cliff Banks of The Banks Report and later confirmed by Auto Remarketing, Cox Automotive has created a chief operating officer position and has named Mark O’Neil to the position.

In addition to announcing the COO move, Cox Automotive said Thursday that Keith Jezek will become president of the Cox Automotive Software Group, O’Neil’s most recent role. Jezek is currently president of software solutions.

Cox Automotive also created a position of chief product officer, which will be filled by Rick Gibbs.

A longtime product and technology executive, he was formerly Dealertrack’s executive vice president and group president for digital marketing solution.

Jezek and Gibbs will report to O’Neil, who will report to Cox Automotive president Sandy Schwartz.

“Mark is an automotive industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience integrating and operating a wide range of companies, and he has done it effectively,” Schwartz said in Thursday’s news release. “This move will help us to make quicker decisions and take products to market more cohesively as we help our clients thrive in an expanding and competitive marketplace.”

O’Neil added: “This is a time of opportunity for Cox Automotive. Since the formation of Cox Automotive, clients have been asking us for a connected experience and for products that work together seamlessly. We will keep evolving to help our clients not only compete, but thrive amid new consumer demands, compressed margins and complex technologies.”

All three of these moves involve executives with extensive backgrounds with the auto industry at large and with companies brought into the Cox Automotive fold over the years.

O’Neil was president of Dealertrack, which Cox Automotive purchased. He became the president of the Cox Automotive Software Group.  He was also a co-founder of CarMax, among other areas of auto experience.

Jezek co-founded vAuto with Dale Pollak, and Gibbs co-founded Dealer.com (which Dealertrack would eventually purchase).

Gibbs was also chief technology officer and president at Dealer.com before becoming chief executive officer and president there. 

Gibbs has headed up product development since the Dealertrack merger.