Automotive learning and development agency RTS Group has appointed digital media and ecommerce veteran Mark Smith as its chief executive.

Smith has joined the 30-year-old company to steer its strategy and identify new areas of business, bringing the benefit of an extensive career experience, which included launching a retail price comparison website which was sold to eBay, running an online shopping portal business with a £40m-£50m turnover, and helping tech start-ups to grow.

RTS Group managing director Malcolm Miller said: “Ours is a long-established company, with an excellent reputation and ever-growing client base. Mark is just the person we need to help build on that firm basis and help us to grow and support our clients even more effectively within the automotive sector and complementary industries.”

2019 marks 30 years in business for RTS Group, which last year was in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Companies to work. As well as delivering learning and development and automotive events, it has a finance arm – FIMTRAC – which focuses on trade cycle management, and helping dealerships increase finance penetration.

Smith said: “There is a brilliant talent pool of people here at RTS, and the technology they are using for the learning and development is truly fantastic.

"From now on, it’s about how we market that even more effectively and develop it according to market feedback, and what our clients want.”