SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

Digital automotive marketplace TrueCar appointed Noel Watson as executive vice president and chief financial officer, with responsibility for leading TrueCar’s financial operations, including accounting and investor relations.

Watson, who spent the last 13 years with online travel platform TripAdvisor, will be based in Santa Monica, Calif. He will report to TrueCar president and chief executive officer, Chip Perry.

As vice president of finance and chief accounting officer at TripAdvisor, Watson oversaw the company’s global accounting operations and corporate financial planning and analysis function.

Watson began his career as a certified public accountant at Arthur Andersen and went on to hold management positions at Boston-based technology companies ArrAy Inc. and Way Systems before he started with TripAdvisor in 2006.

“Noel is a seasoned financial executive who comes to TrueCar with more than 20 years of financial operations and leadership experience,” Perry said in a news release. “His depth of experience with two-sided digital marketplaces that have complex revenue and acquisition models will provide an outstanding background for driving TrueCar’s financial growth and prosperity. He will play a vital role as we accelerate product and technology innovation toward becoming a true end-to-end shopping-to-showroom car buying experience.”

“I’m excited to be joining TrueCar during this dynamic period of innovation for the company in its mission to dramatically improve the way people discover, buy and sell cars,” Watson said. “Having worked at a marketplace leader in the travel segment for over a decade, I look forward to bringing this experience to TrueCar’s digital automotive platform.”