The Board has appointed Mike Darrow as interim President and Chief Executive Officer. Mike will continue to act as the Executive Vice President of OEM and Partner Development for TrueCar and President of ALG. Mike has also managed TrueCar’s exclusive Affinity Partner network, including its USAA partnership. In addition to his responsibility for ALG, the industry benchmark for residual values, Mike led TrueCar’s efforts to partner with OEMs to optimize their marketing strategies, and affinity partners who use TrueCar-powered auto buying programs to enhance the value proposition for their members and customers.
Prior to joining TrueCar, Mike held leadership roles over 14 years at Edmunds.com, including Chief Executive Officer of Edmunds Data Services and Chief Sales Officer. Before joining Edmunds, Mike spent nearly 20 years with Chrysler and Nissan in a variety of leadership roles in Sales, Marketing and Incentives.
Mike holds a B.S. in Economics from Allegheny University.
ExecutiveTeam
Prior to joining TrueCar, Noel spent thirteen years with Boston-based TripAdvisor, the world’s largest online travel platform, where he gained deep experience in two-sided digital marketplaces with complex revenue and acquisition models. In his most recent role as VP Finance & Chief Accounting Officer at TripAdvisor, Noel oversaw the company’s global accounting operations and corporate financial planning and analysis function.
He began his career as a CPA at Arthur Andersen and subsequently held management positions at Boston based technology firms ArrAy Inc. and Way Systems prior to joining TripAdvisor in 2006.
Noel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Bryant University.
Lucas Donat is the Chief Brand Officer of TrueCar, Inc., responsible for brand and positioning, consumer and trade advertising and creative content development across TV, radio and digital mediums.
Previously, Lucas was Chief Marketing Officer, where he oversaw creative strategy development and user engagement for television, radio and digital advertising. During this time, he also served as part-time CEO of a Santa Monica-based advertising agency that he founded in 1990. In 2012, his agency, Tiny Rebellion, became the company’s agency of record and played a central role in evolving the brand’s identity for both dealer and consumer audiences.
Prior to partnering with TrueCar, Lucas led Tiny Rebellion as it presided over the branding of several internet companies, including eHarmony, LegalZoom and Hotwire. Under his creative leadership Tiny Rebellion won Ad Age’s Small Agency of the Year in 2014.
Overall, Lucas has more than 20 years of advertising experience. He attended Ithaca College’s School of Communications.
In a career spanning over 20 years, he has served in executive leadership roles at some of the world’s most innovative companies, including Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at Hulu and IDEO and various leadership roles at Levi Strauss, Fidelity Investments, and Citibank.
In 2013, John founded Gamut HCD (Human Centered Design), a platform to help companies design and build talent processes to support their growth and business success. His list of clients includes Tala, Thrive Market, Minted, Gensler, Pinterest, and Riot Games among others.
John’s early career was spent leading outdoor education and team building programs for schools and businesses.
He earned a Master of Education in Experiential Learning from Colorado State University and holds a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Communications from Miami University.
He has more than 19 years of experience working in the automotive industry in sales and operations roles.
Simon joined TrueCar in 2012 overseeing various roles within the dealer organization. Prior to joining TrueCar, Simon worked at AutoNation as National Sales Director. During his tenure he also led go-to-market strategy and implementation for AutoNation Direct, the company’s national alternative buying platform. Prior to that he spent eight years at CarsDirect (now Internet Brands) as Vice President of Sales and Operations. He began his career at Mercedes-Benz in the United Kingdom.
Simon holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
Jeff Swart is the EVP and General Counsel of TrueCar. He is responsible for managing auto regulatory compliance issues and assisting with other legal matters.
Jeff is a seasoned litigator with over 16 years of experience in commercial litigation and is one of the nation's most knowledgeable experts on auto regulatory compliance.
Jeff joined TrueCar in May 2014 and has served as the company's outside regulatory counsel since January 2012.
Before joining TrueCar, Jeff was a litigation partner at the law firm of Alston & Bird LLP, and before that, a CPA with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC).
Jeff holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from the Emory Goizueta Business School and a J.D. from Emory Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Emory Law Journal.