Black Book has promoted data scientist Yushan Liu to director of data science in its data and analytics department.

The company said she’ll be responsible for leading and expanding the data science team, as well as setting the vision, strategy and road map for data science initiatives.

Liu, who holds a Ph.D. in Chemometrics and Analytical Chemistry from the University of Delaware, has served as a data scientist for Black Book since 2018. She came to the company with no experience in the automotive industry, the company said, but quickly became an expert on Black Book data.

Yushan Liu

The company credits Liu with combining natural language processing technology with vehicle domain knowledge to automatically detect add/deducts from retail listings, enhancing history valuations and automating the process of generating new car option relationships.

“Yushan’s passion for data, commitment to solving complex problems and empathy for her colleagues make her the clear choice to elevate Black Book’s data science,” vice president of analytics Laura Wehunt said. “During my time working with Yushan, I have witnessed her transformation from a top individual contributor to a leader ready to guide us into the future.”