TrueCar Hires Industry Veteran and Online Automotive Pioneer Michael Darrow to Lead OEM Development

SANTA MONICA, Calif.—TrueCar, Inc. announced today that Michael Darrow, an automotive industry veteran with nearly 20 years of experience working for OEMs, has become the company’s Executive Vice President of OEM Development.

In his new role, Darrow will oversee the development and implementation of new OEM program initiatives in support of TrueCar’s ongoing commitment to create a best in class modern automotive marketplace. He will report to TrueCar President and Chief Executive Officer, Chip Perry.

"Mike has a truly unique background and will be a huge asset for TrueCar because he has deep experience and success as both an OEM executive and as an early pioneer and innovator in the online auto industry. No one else in the third party space can say they have managed a billion dollar OEM incentive budget and held a long-time senior executive role at an industry leading third party. Mike will be leveraging the insights he gained from these two symbiotic industries to help us take our existing OEM incentives platform to an entirely new level," said Perry.

Darrow comes to TrueCar with more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry. Prior to joining TrueCar, Mike spent more than 14 years with Edmunds.com, where he played a key leadership role in the company’s growth and development. Initially, he held the role of CEO of Edmunds Data Services, where he built a newly formed independent data company to power Edmunds.com. After successfully achieving data independence for Edmunds.com, he then moved to Executive VP of Sales to launch the company’s efforts into OEM advertising. His experience and leadership quickly grew the company’s brand reputation and revenue, and within a few years Edmunds became the clear #1 leader in new car display advertising in the third party space. His final position at Edmunds was Chief Sales Officer, where he led both the Tier 1 (OEM) advertising and the Tier 3 (Dealer) sales programs as well as business development.

"I'm very excited to lead TrueCar's drive to enhance and grow its OEM relationships and targeted incentives business," said Darrow. "I believe the company's unique closed loop attribution model and its unparalleled affinity partnerships provide a very compelling opportunity for OEMs to significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their incentive programs, which have grown to become more than two times larger than all of their combined traditional and digital advertising spending."

Prior to Edmunds.com, Mike spent nearly 20 years on the OEM side of the business with Chrysler and Nissan. During his 17 years with Nissan, Darrow held numerous key leadership and sales positions, including National Contest and Incentives Director, where he directed all national incentive planning and programs.