TruDecision reinforced its advisory board on Monday with a blockchain expert who hails from both the academic and business worlds.

The fintech company focused on driving efficiencies in the auto finance and dealership spaces announced the advisory board appointment of John Medellin, a former partner at IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers partner and now a research professor at Southern Methodist University.

“We are thrilled to have someone of John’s stature join our advisory board and look forward to his contributions as we scale our technology for auto lenders and dealerships,” said Daniel Parry, co-founder and chief executive officer of TruDecision.

“Dr. Medellin is not only breaking new ground in blockchain research, but brings decades of experience helping some of the largest companies in the world navigate the challenges of competing in a high-tech marketplace,” Parry continued. “His guidance will be critical in our efforts to take cutting edge science and make it practical and accessible to our customers.”

TruDecision was formed and capitalized in early 2017. The company immediately acquired Texas-based Integrated Fintech, an analytic consulting firm serving auto finance companies in the United States. 

Since inception, the company has expanded to dealership and lender clients in both the United States and Canada. The company launched two flagship products: the Expert Auto Credit Score for lenders, and Dealer Edge, which can augment dealer leads with predictive models and data that improve closure rates while reducing expense.

Medellin is presently research associate professor at Southern Methodist University, and CEO/CTO of Medellin Applied Research Concepts. His current research focus is on blockchain consensus algorithms and the implications for workload performance.

Previously, Medellin spent 11 years as a GBS partner with IBM and 13 years as a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

“I am truly excited to partner with the team at TruDecision. Their passion for innovation and willingness to embrace the new frontiers of research will allow them to deliver powerful solutions to their clients,” Medellin said.