Cars.com names tech sector veteran Colette LaForce chief marketing officer

Cars.com announced today that Colette LaForce has been named chief marketing officer and will begin her role effective immediately. She is responsible for all aspects of brand marketing, advertising, pricing and analytics, communications, and creative services and events for Cars.com. LaForce reports directly to Chief Executive Officer and President Alex Vetter and is based in the company’s Chicago headquarters.

“I am pleased to welcome Colette to the Cars.com family. She is a Silicon Valley veteran and nationally renowned CMO with more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector who will help take Cars.com to the next level,” said Vetter. “She has earned a reputation as a change agent who succeeds at driving results and consistency from her teams, and I believe she can further accelerate Cars.com’s growth as part of TEGNA.”

LaForce was most recently chief marketing officer of AMD, a $5 billion Fortune 500 semiconductor provider known for its leadership in the digital gaming space. Prior to AMD, she spent four years at Dell in a variety of marketing and product roles, culminating in her appointment as chief marketing officer for the $8 billion Dell Services business. LaForce spent nearly a decade in Silicon Valley launching digital start-ups and leading a technology disruptor to a successful IPO in 2005. She began her career at Accenture as a software programmer and has also worked in the venture capital space. LaForce holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame.

“I’m thrilled to be joining such a dynamic, growing business and one of the industry’s most beloved and trusted brands,” said LaForce. “The opportunity to help Cars.com deliver outstanding business performance through marketing innovation and best-in-class digital experiences for buyers, sellers and advertisers alike is very exciting to me.”