SAN FRANCISCO — LotLinx appointed Paul Johnson to its board of directors. Johnson spent 13 years at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) until he resigned from his CEO post in February 2012.

Under Johnson’s leadership, KBB experienced nearly 700 percent growth in revenue and profits. He is credited with leading the transformation of the vehicle information site from a print publication into a major force in the online auto space.

“No one in our industry understands what both consumers and dealers want in the automotive shopping process better than Paul — and delivering that experience is at the core of LotLinx’s mission,” said LotLinx Founder Len Short. “Plus, Paul’s extensive background in building businesses and brands — including one of the best known and most trusted brands, anywhere online — across digital media, software and hardware services makes him an invaluable addition to our board.”

LotLinx launched this October with a mission to tear down the third-party wall between auto dealers and their customers by replacing lead forms on third-party sites with direct links that send consumers to a vehicle’s detail page (VDP) on a dealer’s website. LotLinx already powers 125-plus automotive search sites, reaching over 85 percent of all auto shoppers.

“I’m thrilled to be working with a team that is dedicated to improving the online shopping experience for both dealers and consumers,” said Johnson. “I believe LotLinx’s goal of driving in-market shoppers directly to the dealer’s site, with no lead form in the middle, improves the user experience. This results in greater conversion to sales, and it’s clear that LotLinx is already delivering increased ROI for dealers.”

The founder of Paul Conrad LLC, a private investment fund and advisory service for fast growth companies both on and offline, Johnson sits on the board or acts as an advisor for several companies, including Intellectual Technology Inc., a developer of software and hardware solutions for state motor vehicle agencies, and Evox Images, supplier of digital imagery to auto manufacturers and dealers.

Johnson joins a board consisting of executive who have worked in the search and lead space for automotive. The board includes Len Short, founder of LotLinx and former CMO of AOL; Mark Boyd, co-founder of Chrome, who also played a key role in the acquisition of Dealix by Cobalt; Denise Chudy, former GM of the automotive group at Google; and Jim Riesenbach, former CEO of Autobytel Inc. and GM of AOL Search.