Baer on his appointment as new AutoFi president: 'I couldn’t be more excited'

Digital automotive commerce platform AutoFi recently announced that it has appointed Josh Baer as its new president.

According to a press release, AutoFi is the largest independent financial technology company in the automotive industry. Baer comes to AutoFi with nearly 20 years of experience in financial services and will lead the company's lender and enterprise business segments with a focus on growth acceleration in sectors of transformative retailing and financing experiences to address customers' preferences.

“AutoFi is a pioneer in the digitization of the auto industry,” Baer said, according to the press release. “The company is uniquely positioned with manufacturers, retailers and lenders to deliver digital experiences that will drive the future of the market. The opportunity to shape such a large and complex industry is compelling and I couldn’t be more excited to join the AutoFi leadership team in delivering on this promise."

The new appointment comes following a recent announcement from AutoFi that the company would be investing $85 million to accelerate its growth.

“Bringing finance innovation to the auto ecosystem is a critical part of our strategy and differentiation,” AutoFi CEO Kevin Singerman said, according to the press release. “Josh’s experience in credit, lending, automotive and risk management brings deep domain and operating expertise to better serve our dealer, OEM and lender customers with industry-leading products.”

Before coming to AutoFi, Baer previously served as the head of strategy after a previous three years as chief risk officer for the Santander Consumer executive team. Baer also worked for 13 years in various leadership roles for Capital One in its consumer business sectors. Baer has a master's from the University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business.