Cars.com has appointed Jenell Ross to its board of directors, noting that her 28 years of auto industry experience includes 11 years as president of Bob Ross Auto Group, a Buick-GMC and Mercedes-Benz dealership based in Ohio.

Cars.com said Bob Ross Auto Group was the first U.S. African American-owned Mercedes-Benz dealer and added that Ross is the only second-generation African American female auto dealer in the country.

Ross was previously chair of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, and CARS said she was the first minority and the second female to lead that organization of nearly 10,000 dealers.

“Jenell brings valuable insights to the board through her years of leadership in the automotive industry and the public, civic and charity boards on which she is involved,” CARS chairman of the board Scott Forbes said in a news release. “Her real-world experience as a successful dealer owner-operator further enhances the perspectives of our board.”

“I am pleased to join CARS in support of their quest for category leadership,” Ross said. “I look forward to contributing a dealer's perspective as I work with the board and management team to help the CARS platform generate meaningful sales and efficiencies for our industry through innovation.”

Ross is also a board of directors member at Hub Group, a North American supply chain solutions company. She recently served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Cincinnati branch.

She also serves on the board of trustees for the University of Dayton and the Will Allen Foundation.

In addition, Ross is a board member for the Minority Business Partnership through the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. She is also an active member of the Dayton Area Automobile Dealers Association and the Ohio Auto Dealers Association.

CARS also noted Ross’s passion for giving back.

She started a charity, the Norma J. Ross Memorial Foundation, to honor her late mother. That organization supports youth in education and the arts and raises funds in the fight against breast cancer.

Ross was also a 2013 honoree in Auto Remarketing's Women in Remarketing program.

“Jenell is a 28-year auto industry veteran and accomplished leader. She will bring incredible perspective and valuable insights to the CARS Board as a successful second generation dealer owner-operator of the Bob Ross Auto Group – the first African American-owned Mercedes-Benz dealer in the U.S.,” CARS president and chief executive officer Alex Vetter said in emailed comments.

“Keeping local dealers at the center of our industry remains a guiding principle, and the addition of Jenell will help strengthen CARS commitment to enabling local operators to leverage technology to their competitive advantage. The CARS Board and management team is excited to work with her,” he said.