| -

CHICAGO — Cars.com appointed a new dealer training manager on Tuesday, and taking on the position is Jack Simmons, who has worked in the auto industry for more than 25 years and was most recently the vice president of automotive solutions at WorldNow.

In his role with Cars.com, Simmons will work with company's DealerADvantage online training program, teaching dealers about effective online advertising and sales processes and how to put them into practice.

"Jack's deep knowledge of automotive retail and Internet sales will help our customers achieve greater performance from their campaigns," shared Kathy Kimmel, Cars.com director of training. "With online initiatives becoming even more critical to their operations, he'll deliver the practical guidance dealers need to reach in-market buyers and win their business."

Discussing Simmons' industry experience in more detail, officials noted that in addition to his time at WorldNow, he also previously worked as a national dealer trainer at AutoTrader.com.

During Simmons' quarter century in the business, more than 96,000 industry professionals have been trained under his watch. Simmons has done presentations for NADA Dealer 20 Groups, as well at such industry events as National Automobile Dealers Association, National Independent Automobile Dealers Association and buy-here, pay-here conferences.

"Cars.com uniquely understands online shoppers and how its automotive advertisers — both at the dealer and manufacturer level — can leverage the Internet to drive traffic and win more sales," Simmons stated. "I'm excited to join this team, helping our customers integrate new technology — from chat to mobile and video — and take their programs to the next level."

In some other news from the company, Cars.com will have a presence at the upcoming Digital Dealer Conference and Exposition in Orlando today and Thursday.

Specifically, speaking at the conference will be:

—Simmons, who is moderating "The Price is Right: Strategies, Tools to Align Your Pricing with the Market" panel discussion today from 9 a.m. (EST) to 9:50 a.m. Panelists include Jim Flint, of John Eagle Family of Dealerships; Kevin Frye, of Jeff Wyler Automotive Family; Dale Pollak, of vAuto; Pat Ryan Jr., of FirstLook; and Mike Waterman, of DealerTrack.

—Along with two others, Michael Page, vice president of advertising products at Cars.com, will lead the "Dominate the Online Jungle: Put the Digital Gorilla to Work for Your Store" workshop today from 10 a.m. (EST) to 10:50 a.m. He will be joined by Andrew DiFeo, of Hyundai of St. Augustine, Fla., and Cory Mosley, of Mosley Training.

—Kimmel is leading the "Steps to a Sale: Move the Metal with Ongoing Follow-Up" workshop from 11 to 11:50 a.m. on Thursday.