Autobrain, an award-winning connected car platform that turns any car into a smart car in minutes, announced the appointment of Stephen Polk to the company’s advisory board.

Polk currently serves as president and CEO of Highgate LLC, and was previously chairman, president and CEO at R. L. Polk & Co., an automotive data and marketing solutions leader that pioneered auto industry analytics and data usage and included CARFAX, which became the leading name in the vehicle history collection industry. R. L. Polk & Co. was acquired by IHS (now IHS Markit) in July 2013 for $1.4 billion. Stephen Polk has been brought on to advise Autobrain regarding growth and distribution expansion, as well as strategic use of data assets, and has also made an investment in the company.

Stephen Polk commented, “The auto industry is undergoing a metamorphosis, and leveraging information regarding usage, diagnostics and other data generated by vehicles is a key aspect of the connected car value chain. Autobrain has a winning combination of talent, technology and a robust pipeline of distribution and development that will undoubtedly lead this new category, and I am excited to be joining their team.”

Jeremy Gelbart, co-founder and CEO, commented, “We are delighted to welcome Stephen on to our advisory board. His experience, insights and deep understanding of the automotive data environment will contribute significantly to our strategy as we expand our user base in the coming years.”