Fleet automation software company RideCell has hired two former Cisco connected car executives. 

Mark Thomas joins the San Francisco based company as vice president of marketing, and Paul Drysch joins as vice president of business development, as well as general manager of APAC.

RideCell's automation platform can integrate ride-sharing, car-sharing, and fixed route services. The company powers new mobility businesses from end to end, from consumer apps to day-to-day fleet management, demand and supply analytics, marketing, CRM, and payments. 

Thomas has over 20 years' experience in the transport tech industry and will work on building RideCell's marketing strategy. Beforehand, he worked at Cisco Jasper on the connected car marketing team, wher he developed the product and go-to-market strategies for auto OEMs. Thomas has also worked for Apple and Nokia, and was the lead product marketer for automotive maps company HERE. 

He's already been busy blogging for RideCell, where he outlines why he left Cisco and where he thinks mobility as a service and autonomous cars are going in the future.

"Transportation is on the cusp of a massive paradigm shift," he wrote, "we’re on the brink of a revolution that’s far bigger than the transition with music."

Drysch, on the other hand, has over 20 years' sales leadership experience in the connected car and IoT markets. He also worked at Cisco Jasper, where he was global director of connected car. 

The new vice president of BD also led the automotive telematics business at Aeris Communications for nine years and was a founding member of the WirelessCar North America management team, where he led sales and marketing for the company. Drysch also spent five years working for Honda.

"Bringing deep domain experience in new mobility initiatives for the automotive industry, Mark and Paul are important appointments for RideCell," said Aarjav Trivedi, CEO and founder of RideCell. 

"We're moving from a world where people buy cars to a world where people will subscribe to transportation services. RideCell has already built the leading mobility services platform for the automotive industry and campuses," he added.