SEATTLE -

DigniFi — a platform company that connects consumers with finance companies for vehicle repairs, tires, accessories and other auto-related needs — recently named its new chief technology officer

Reporting to chief executive officer Richard Counihan from Seattle will be Kevin Yu, who will be responsible for growing DigniFi’s engineering organization, continuously improving product quality and delivering innovations for customers and partners.

Initially, the company said in a news release that Yu will focus on re-platforming DigniFi to improve the scalability and dynamism of Expressway, a revolving credit line that can help consumers afford auto repairs, upgrades, accessories, and more.

Yu joins DigniFi with more than 20 years of experience leading engineering teams at high-growth startups in the Seattle area. He most recently served as CTO of JAXJOX, a fitness technology company, and as co-founder and CTO of Markedly, which helps B2B startups optimize product-market fit.

Earlier in his career, Yu co-founded and served as CTO of Socedo, a venture-backed demand gen platform that was acquired by Azuqua in 2018.

Yu also held senior roles with Okta, an identity access and management platform, and Avanade, a digital consultancy majority-owned by Accenture. He began his career with Microsoft, where he worked for a total of 12 years.

“Kevin’s experience in both B2B and B2C roles is critical to DigniFi, as we serve consumers, dealerships, and lenders through our platform,” Counihan said.

“Having successfully re-platformed multiple companies, Kevin is ready to transform our infrastructure for more scalable, dynamic offerings,” Counihan continued. “We are confident that Kevin can manage this process successfully while enabling us to maintain and build upon sales growth of 200% in 2021.”

“Most importantly,” Counihan went on to say, “Kevin is aligned with our corporate values and mission. He gets our culture of creating learning and leadership opportunities for each member of his team. He will be a great coach for his employees who already lead projects, make significant decisions, and have real ownership of the outcomes.”

A prolific learner, Yu holds four degrees also is a mentor for both Techstars and The Founder Institute.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been passionate about innovating technologies for unmet needs and underserved consumers,” Yu said. “DigniFi helps everyday Americas meet their mobility needs by providing access to simple, innovative financing options via artificial intelligence and machine learning. It’s exciting to be part of this journey.”