DriveBid, a live vehicle trade-in marketplace set to launch in the coming weeks, has named a national vice president of sales.

Hired for the role is former KAR Global/BacklotCars executive Justin Marquardt.

He co-founded onMARQ Marketing in 2012, providing consulting on digital marketing and social media strategies, before joining information management and digital services company Ricoh as major account executive.

Marquardt joined TradeRev in 2016 as market sales manager, becoming district sales manager in 2018.

His most recent posts were as market sales director and regional director of business performance at KAR, as well as market sales director for BacklotCars.

“DriveBid is truly a first of its kind marketplace that requires a sales leader with specialized automotive industry experience,” said Albert Thompson, founder and chief executive officer of DriveBid and parent company DrivenIQ, in a news release.

“Justin has served in sales, automotive technology and business leadership roles and that is exactly the experience we need to expand the DriveBid brand and grow our national footprint,” Thompson said. “I’m thrilled Justin has joined our team and I look forward to many successes as he leads our sales efforts.”

Marquardt added: ““The automotive industry has always been my passion and I’m very excited to lead the sales charge at DriveBid. Quite frankly, I’m shocked it’s taken this long for a live trade-in marketplace, like DriveBid, to emerge in an industry that begs for direct connection between dealers and consumers in a convenient, online platform.

“I’m looking forward to leveraging my experience to help DriveBid become the number one destination for dealers to buy the inventory they need, straight from the driveway, and to help consumers get the best deal for their car.”