Black Book, a leading provider of electronic data and insight to the automotive industry, today announced the appointment of Chris du Toit to vice president, Product Management. The announcement was made by Tom Cross, president of Black Book, and the appointment is effective immediately.

In this newly created role, du Toit has responsibility for leading product strategy and product management for all Black Book product offerings. du Toit will focus on enhancing existing products as well as the development of new innovative offerings for the entire group which includes National Auto Research, Veretech Holdings, Inc and Canadian Black Book. He reports directly to Cross.

du Toit joins Black Book from Jacada, Inc., where he was the executive director of Product Management and led the company’s transition from on-premises systems to cloud-based SaaS products. He has worked globally in product development in England, South Africa, and Hong Kong and co-founded a successful technology company that specialized in Web and Enterprise systems architecture and implementation. He earned a BS in Computer Science from Rhodes University in South Africa and holds a JD from Concord Law School and is admitted for practice in the State Bar of California.

"Chris’s impressive expertise will be a great asset to our entire team and he will be instrumental in our dedication to continuous innovation and the creation of breakthrough products," said Cross.

Black Book® is best known in the automotive industry for providing timely, independent and accurate vehicle pricing information, and is available to industry-qualified users through online subscription products, mobile applications and licensing agreements. A leading provider since 1955, Black Book has continuously evolved to ensure that it achieves its goal of delivering mission-critical information to its customers, along with the insight necessary to successfully buy, sell, and lend. Black Book data is published daily by National Auto Research, a division of Hearst Business media, and the company maintains offices in Georgia, Florida, and Maryland.