SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

TrueCar revealed Thursday that it has tapped a former Yahoo and American Express marketing executive to serve as its chief marketing officer.

Appointed to the role is Todd Daum, who will head up the development, direction and oversight of TrueCar’s direct-to-consumer product marketing, e-commerce, advertising initiatives and media throughout the company’s properties.

Daum’s prior role was at Automoti.com, where he was the chief operating officer. In that position, Daum helped craft an online portal where rental car companies could put at-risk rental up for direct sale to consumers while the units were still being rented. Hertz bought the company in 2009.

His experience also includes time as the head of marketing for Overture Services (which was purchased by Yahoo), as well as the company’s head of business-to-business marketing for all Overture products, along with Web hosting, e-commerce and HotJobs.

Prior to his time with Overture, he was at American Express.

"Todd brings a rare blend of brand building expertise and online marketing experience across multiple channels. He will be vital in delivering awareness of our brand to consumers," said Scott Painter, founder and chief executive officer of TrueCar. "As we continue to develop great products and strong technology platforms, we look to Todd to help us increase conversion — and make us a household name."

Daum chimed in, noting: "I am excited about the opportunity to be a part of an effort that is literally changing the face of the auto industry. The ideas being put into practice daily at TrueCar are nothing short of revolutionary — and I welcome the challenge of building effective marketing strategies to help bring them to the public."