Ontario, Calif. — CU Direct today announced the appointment of Ron Frey as chief strategy officer of its automotive solutions. He joined the company this month.

Frey will oversee the planning and direction of automotive solutions as it relates to product and market expansion. This includes oversight of existing products, including CUDL, a credit union auto financing platform, and AutoSMART, an online vehicle-shopping site for the credit union industry.

“Ron’s expansive leadership, partnered with strategic planning, has led him to succeed in implementing cutting-edge technology solutions,” stated Tony Boutelle, president and CEO of CU Direct. “We are excited to have him join our team, as we continue to evolve our innovative automotive products to better serve our 1,000 credit unions and more than 12,000 dealer partners.”

Before joining CU Direct, Frey spent 30 years serving in the automotive and credit union industry. His most recent position was chief strategy officer and president of AutoNation Direct. He has also served as CEO of Autoland and COO of TrueCar.

“I am pleased to be joining the CU Direct Team, where I can leverage my background in technology innovation, deep automotive experience and credit union experience,” said Frey. “I look forward to digging in and looking for ways to bring innovation and value to our credit unions and dealer partners.”