AGORA recently bolstered its connections to human capital to delve into the debt space.

The Texas-based provider of technology solutions for the financial services industry formed a partnership with Nancy Hughes — a leading debt acquisitions expert — in order to expand the scope of services and solutions AGORA offers to the marketplace of auto finance loans and receivables.

Hughes brings a wealth of experience in managing, pricing, acquiring and disposing of debt and accounts receivable across a wide range of consumer asset classes.  In partnering with AGORA, Hughes will lead AGORA’s initiatives to develop tools, resources and a marketplace platform for debt and accounts receivable related to the auto finance sector.

AGORA founder and chief executive officer Steve Burke said, “I have known and worked with Nancy for years. She is a true industry leader and a dedicated professional. We are very excited to have her as part of the team.”

Since its launch last April, Burke insisted AGORA’s flagship loan exchange platform has rapidly been adopted the secondary market for auto paper, allowing buyers and sellers to publish and exchange contract data directly in an efficient and secure environment without the need of intermediaries or brokers.

And that’s part of the reason why Hughes became involved.

“Throughout my career, I have worked tirelessly to balance client and company goals resulting in truly successful partnerships,” Hughes said. “I see tremendous value in the AGORA platform and its groundbreaking technology.

“The opportunities to lead the effort to bring AGORA into the debt markets and provide access to a client community that I have served for decades is truly revolutionary,” Hughes added.

AGORA was created in response to the many friction points and inefficiencies that exist in the manner that auto loan portfolios currently trade — namely poor and inconsistent data, lack of transparency from the brokers that previously dominated the market and heightened regulatory concerns over unsecured transmission of personal consumer data.

“Partnering with experts such as Nancy further evidences AGORA’s priorities to be forward thinking and to continue our drive to provide fully integrated resources across the consumer finance sector — from performing loans through non-performing and charged-off debt,” said Burke, who was among the leaders highlighted in The CEO Issue; an annual production of SubPrime Auto Finance News that’s available here.