Tekion executive George Kang been named the first member of The Dave Cantin Group’s newly launched advisory board, the dealership merger and acquisition advisory company announced.

DCG said the board will be comprised of automotive experts to help drive the company’s next phase of growth and support new company initiatives.

Kang, executive vice president of partner and OEM Solutions for cloud-based dealer management system provider Tekion, will provide DCG with strategic support across its data and intelligence portfolio, the company said.

That includes the commercialization strategy for DCG’s artificial intelligence-powered dealership analysis tool Jump IQ as well as supporting critical relationship development with auto manufacturers.

George Kang

DCG president and CEO Dave Cantin said his company’s commitment to work with strategic advisors began with its partnership with Kaltroco, a private investment company backed by the family of CVC Capital Partners co-founder Steve Koltes.

“It now continues with the creation of our own advisory board,” Cantin said. “The board of advisors will help DCG advance and capitalize on key strategic initiatives, like Jump IQ, by bringing in experts such as George Kang who offer experience and relationships that complement our team’s expertise.”

In a news release, DCG said Kang brings nearly 30 years of automotive experience as an innovator of the first cloud-native platform for the automotive retail ecosystem, and his talent for relationship-building ensures Tekion’s enterprise solutions are “seamlessly integrated and consistently exceed automaker expectations.”

Kang previously served as chief revenue officer for Edmunds and The RealReal, managing high-growth, large-scale sales and operations teams. His resume also includes roles with Ford, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz in corporate finance and product management.