Mark Claypool's Bio
Mark Claypool is currently the Chairman and CEO of Optima Automotive and President of Select Tech Professional Services. Mark was the founder of the Mentors At Work organization, now owned by VeriFacts Automotive. Mark has worked in occupational mentoring, training, workforce development and business/education partnerships for over 25 years.
Mark is a well respected, published author of numerous trade press articles and online e-newsletters. Mark is a contributing editor with Body Shop Business Magazine and has several cover stories to his credit.
Mark is frequently out in the field working with shops on their SOPs, extracting their best practices from staff, acting as a catalyst for discussion, searching for wasted time, motion and talent.
Mark also works closely with collision repair shops on their websites, using his extensive knowledge and understanding of what the public looks for, rather than what most shops include on their sites, to help shops be as effective with their online presence as possible.
Mark invites you to check out his company websites:
MORE ABOUT MARK:
After receiving his degree in Education from the University of Illinois, Mark Claypool began his career with the co-ed Career Exploring Division of the Boy Scouts of America. From 1989 to 1996 he served SkillsUSA/VICA as their National Director of Development and led their Business/Education Partnerships team, raising millions of dollars for their programs. While at SkillsUSA, Mr. Claypool was honored with a special commission as a Kentucky Colonel by the Governor of Kentucky for exceptional service to youth in America, one of few non-Kentucky residents to be so honored.
From 1996 to 1998 Mark was Executive Director of the I-CAR Education Foundation where he worked closely with the education sector in training students up-to-date automotive repair skills and competencies. During that time, Mark was asked three times by the Automotive Service Association (ASA), and once by the Equipment and Tool Institute (ETI), to lead panel discussions at the National Automotive Congress and Exposition (NACE) on where future technicians will be coming from.
Through Select Tech, a project management company, Mark is leading the development and delivery of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for various businesses through SOP MD. Mark has assisted the Coordinating Committee on Automotive Repair (CCAR) with their Automotive Career Education Day, their Safety and Pollution Prevention Program and other projects. Mark coordinated a public relations campaign in the Midwest for the United States Treasury, helping save tax-payers millions of dollars.
Also through Select Tech, Mark was the Executive Director of the National Auto Body Council, an organization focused on enhancing the image of the collision repair industry; and co-founded the Collision Industry Foundation where he helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Camp Mak-A-Dream and for Habitat for Humanity. Mark also served as the Vice President of Operations for VeriFacts Automotive, helping them dial in their process and procedures so they could take their very effective model out to additional markets.
SkillsUSA has honored Mark by selecting him to be USA WorldTeam Leader for the WorldSkills Competition for the past six years. In 2003 Mark took a group of nationally selected students to compete in Switzerland against the world’s best in the Olympics of occupational trades. Mark also led the WorldTeam to the 2005 WorldSkills Competition in Finland, the 2007 competition in Japan and the 2009 competition in Calgary.
On a volunteer basis, Mr. Claypool serves on the Industry Standards Committee for the Collision Industry Conference (CIC). He also coaches his daughter’s youth softball team.