Entrepreneur and former auction industry executive Steve Simon has joined the board of directors at CARS Recon, the company announced this week.

Simon was the founder and chief executive officer of the American Auto Auction Group, which was established in 2010 and then rebranded to XLerate Group in 2014.

Simon, who retired in 2012, was also the founder and CEO of Auction Finance Group and the chairman and CEO of the Canadian Auction Group

Since his retirement, Simon has served on several boards of community service organizations in Charleston, S.C., and worked as a mentor in a local elementary school system.

“We are thrilled to have Steve join our corporate family,” CARS Recon president CEO Ron Hope said in a news release. “With more than two decades of dedicated service to our industry, his amazing energy, passion and creative expertise is well known to us all.

“We look forward to Steve assisting us in growing our national and international footprint.”

Simon joins fellow non-executive advisers Tony Moorby and Tom Cunningham on the CARS Recon board.