Booming collision repair banner organization Certified Collision Group on Friday announced it had appointed an accomplished investor CEO of the brand.

The company, which offers buying power and insurance relationships to independent OEM-certified shops, represented what appeared to be nearly 300 shops under its umbrella at the end of 2018. It said it planned to add 200 OEM-certified shops this year.

“On a methodical, yet accelerated trajectory, CCG is swiftly approaching $1.5B in systemwide revenues and becoming the third largest repair services organization in the U.S.,” CCG wrote in a news release Friday.

Its explosive growth arose under the tenure of former CEO Bruce Bares, whose LinkedIn profile indicates retired in January after three years with the company.

Unlike Bares, who had extensive collision repair and insurance experience, Matlack’s background lies in investing and operations, according to CCG’s news release.

According to LinkedIn, Matlack’s diverse resume includes time as chief financial officer of the Providence (R.I.) Journal newspaper, founder and managing partner of a $150 million venture capital fund Megunticook management, and investing and serving on the board of a variety of companies. He also founded and is still an owner of the “Good Man Project” website. (For an interesting look at his work with the latter and at Matlack, check out this 2013 BuzzFeed profile.)

“Tom Matlack’s experiences, leadership skills and successes make him the perfect fit to lead CCG as it expands its Affiliate value proposition and national footprint” CCG Chairman Bill Lawrence said in a statement. “Our entire management team is excited to have such a proven executive join CCG during this time of unprecedented competitive complexity in the collision repair industry.”

CCG said he has “significant operating expertise,” “deep experience in scaling numerous media and technology businesses” and has spent time “investing in and coaching CEOs within multiple industries – including SaaS, customer care and intake centers, manufacturing, and large specialty finance organizations.”

“I have a number of growth equity investments in companies where I play a mentorship role to the CEO,” Matlack wrote on LinkedIn of his return to investing. “I particularly enjoy working with young entrepreneurs often in the context of a search fund.”

Featured image: The Certified Collision Group logo is shown. (Provided by CCG)