Canon Moves to AutoByTel

We just saw the official announcement that Mark Canon has moved on from AOL to a new opportunity at Autobytel, where he carries the title "chief product officer."

Canon, whom The Kelsey Group has followed for years, joins Jim Riesenbach, who left AOL earlier this year to take the CEO job at ABT, which facilitates car sales at local dealers.

I bought my first new car using Autobytel back in 1997 and found the experience a good and novel one then. Today, the bar is much higher for adding value in a competitive local market. The opportunity is also greater, with more consumers engaging the Internet to facilitate major purchases.

This is what my colleague Neal Polachek says in a comment provided for the press release:

"In a very short amount of time, Mark has made significant contributions to almost every aspect of the technology, product experiences and business models of local Search on the Internet. Mark’s ability to analyze, articulate and translate ideas from concept to product will continue to benefit consumers and retailers now and in the future."