11 Fleet Leaders Nominated for the 2024 Edward J. Bobit Fleet Manager of the Year

A distinguished group of 11 qualified fleet management leaders are nominated for the 2024 Edward J. Bobit Fleet Manager of the Year award. Curious about who the finalists were in 2023?

The qualified nominees, presented below alphabetically, include some of today’s most progressive, respected, and efficient fleet professionals. 

A panel of judges (listed below) will vote on the final candidates to be announced on August 5th. AFLA and Wheels sponsor the award.

Mikhaila Baldwin

Fleet Manager, CoolSys   

Mikhaila has years of fleet manager experience and is responsible for CoolSys’ fleet of 2,500 vehicles. She is respected by her leadership, peers, and team for her work ethic and focus on fleet operational excellence in every aspect of the CoolSys fleet.

Mikhaila and her team are currently leading an extensive evaluation of all suppliers associated with supporting the CoolSys fleet to maximize efficiency and value in every aspect of the CoolSys fleet.

Ted Chan

Corporate Fleet and Travel Manager, Schindler Elevator Corp.

Ted Chan stands out as a monumental asset in the fleet management sector, exemplifying leadership, innovation, and unwavering dedication. Tasked with managing a 4,000-asset fleet spread across the United States, Ted has showcased exceptional skill in steering his fleet through the challenges of supply chain disruptions over the last three years. His ability to forge substantial relationships with multiple OEMs has ensured the maintenance of proper aging for 96% of his fleet and an operational expense increase limited to less than 1% in 2023 amidst prevalent inflationary pressures.

A fervent advocate for environmental sustainability, Ted has been pivotal in advancing Schindler’s initiative towards achieving NET ZERO emissions by 2040. His strategy in accelerating EV adoption has led to nearly 200 EVs being operational by June 2024, underscoring a notable improvement in the fleet’s operational efficiency and cost savings. This initiative alone resulted in a fuel saving of $2.1 million and a reduction of average CO2 emissions per vehicle by 11.2% in 2023.

Beyond technical metrics, Ted’s leadership ethos is characterized by his approachable nature, availability at all times to support his team, and commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. His role in enhancing driver experience through the revamping of auto-generated templates, coupled with his ability to seamlessly communicate and quickly resolve issues, underscores his vital role within the company.

Ted’s comprehensive understanding of the automobile market, his penchant for sustainability and carbon neutrality, and his creative solutions to fleet management challenges speak volumes of his expertise. His significant contributions have not only led to remarkable operational efficiencies and cost savings but also positioned Schindler as a leader in fleet electrification.

In light of Ted’s exemplary performance, strategic vision, and his instrumental role in promoting sustainability and innovation, it is evident why he is a leading candidate for the Fleet Manager of the Year award. His exceptional ability to optimize fleet operations, significantly reduce costs while enhancing safety and efficiency, coupled with his innovative use of technology and data analytics, makes him a deserving recipient of this prestigious accolade. Ted Chan’s unwavering dedication to excellence, his strategic foresight, and his influential role in transforming fleet management practices significantly contribute to the industry, setting a new benchmark for others to aspire to.

James Claypool

Equipment Manager, Kiewit   

Jim is known as an expert with equipment and fleet at Kiewit and within the construction industry. His work ethic, leadership, drive and focus on best practices within Kiewit’s 8,000 vehicles and all Kiewit equipment is respected by his leadership team, colleagues, peers and teammates. Jim is currently leading key initiatives across the Kiewit vehicles and equipment to significantly improve efficiency and productivity for all aspects of Kiewit fleet and equipment.

Linda Ellis

Strategic Sourcing Manager, Union Chimique Belge (UCB)

As fleet manager for the UCB fleet, Linda Ellis supports the company’s vision of sustainability, which is at the heart of everything they do. UCB is a global pharmaceutical company with a fleet department serving drivers in field operations and sales. There is a clear vision for reducing the carbon footprint of this light-duty fleet of 916 vehicles and 25 medium-duty vehicles. Not satisfied with merely meeting her green goals, Linda has endeavored to accelerate the program and exceed her goals. This year, that will happen—the fleet will be 100% green by the end of 2024, and the UCB fleet will have replaced all ICE vehicles with a sustainable powertrain vehicle.  

In 2022, Linda set the goal of creating an accelerated Green Fleet strategy. In reviewing their sustainability in all spend under management, they are leaders in their industry. The UCB objective was not just to meet the industry standard but to lead by example. The company set the goal of achieving CO2 emission reductions of 5% by the end of 2023 (UCB exceeded this by achieving a 12.14% reduction) and developing a sustainable roadmap to achieve the ambitious target of 15% electric vehicle (EV) powertrain conversion by the end of December 2024.  

YTD, as of the end of May 2024, UCB has achieved 16.33% EV Conversion, which is a commendable sustainable achievement in a relatively short period of time and represents a very impressive 88.84% green conversion rate, when factoring in hybrids and Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). UCB’s aim is to have 20% of it’s drivers driving an EV by the end of 2024.  

To date, Linda has accomplished:  

• In 2023 UCB had 826 sustainable vehicles with an EPA 30+ MPG out of 971 vehicles.
• The UCB fleet has reached an 88.84% green conversion rate.  
• UCB now only partners with sustainable suppliers or have a sustainability plan in place.  
• By the end of 2023, the UCB fleet of 971 vehicles included 143 EVs, 565 Hybrids, 118 PHEVs and 145 ICE vehicles.  
• In 2022, UCB’s fleet accounted for 5,139 tons of CO2 emissions, down from 5,231 in 2021. In 2023, that number was 4512 a reduction of over 12.14% comparing 2022 vs 2023.
• The overall CO2 per mile has gone from 0.73 in 2021, to 0.71 in 2022, and 0.68 in 2023. During that time, miles driven decreased from 15,089,703 to 14,069,089.  
• For 2023, UCB had $282,738 in fuel cost avoidance.  
• In 2023, they avoided 0.68120 tons of CO2 which is the equivalent of planting 27,159 trees CO2. In 2022, that number was 0.71186 tons of CO2 equivalent of 30,889 trees.  
• Significantly the sustainable reduction, when measured in the CO2 per vehicle resulted in 5.2479 per vehicle for 2022 and 4.7200 (decrease of 10.06%) for 2023. For 2024, due to the delivery of additional EVs the CO2 per vehicle has dropped to 2.3238 representing a sustainable reduction per vehicle of – 55.72%.  

An Aggressive Electrification Strategy  

To accelerate the electrification of her fleet, Linda incentivized her employees by eliminating personal use deductions for company EVs, constantly promoting the EV program, and even approving switching employees to EVs just 12 months into their contracts. UCB became a pioneer for testing the FMC’s new automated EV program. Linda and UCB were also sustainable pilot participants in supporting her FMC in developing a new automated EV program. She partnered with the FMC, the home charger supplier and the home charging installation partner, which resulted in 300 EV drivers recently successfully completing a fully automated EV program from start to finish.  

Knowing that fleet plays a large role in UCB’s corporate initiative, Linda has built a robust structured sustainability program around the company’s stringent goals.This includes reduction of CO2 emissions as noted above, working with drivers, adding a structured company policy for fleet stakeholders—all to assure that UCB can position itself as a more sustainable fleet. To date, the fleet has reached an 88.84% green conversion rate. UCB’s goal is to reach a 100% green conversion rate by the end of 2024. The expectation is to have a 20% EV fleet by the end of 2024 – as of May 2024, the EV powertrain conversion is at 16.33%.  

Externally, UCB has increased their supplier base to enable working with OEM and suppliers that are sustainable. This is being done beyond the fleet level; the initiatives are also being promoted on a business operations level. UCB partners only with suppliers that are sustainable or have a sustainability plan in place. Greening the fleet required looking at all aspects of fleet operations and Linda has implemented several initiatives, including downsizing some vehicles, right-sizing the fleet and moving from ICE vehicles to hybrids and EV. They no longer purchase ICE vehicles.  

A Leading Sustainable Transformation  

Knowing that fleet makes a large contribution to organization-wide sustainability goals and that this is an investment in the communities where we live and work, Linda has led the UCB fleet to a large year over year fuel and maintenance initiative. Fuel savings are easily quantified as these are stored in the FMC’s sustainable interactive dashboard—UCB has saved an estimated $282,738 in avoided fuel costs. The fuel savings has an estimated emissions avoidance of 378 tons which is the equivalent of planting 1,554 trees.  

Within only two years, UCB has achieved outstanding milestones in their journey towards a sustainable future:  

• Reduced CO2 emissions by 12.14%. With a target of 5%, this is an outstanding achievement and is due to the proactive promotion of the UCB Green Fleet Program.  
• Attained a green conversion rate of 88.84%, thanks to their hybrid, EV and PHEV strategy.  
• Achieved a fuel reduction of $282,738 by transitioning to EV, equating to 378 estimated emissions avoidance, equivalent to planting 4,554 trees.  
• Reached 60% of their fleet becoming hybrid.  
• UCB put 143 EVs onto the road in 2023, with a plan to increase this number to 300 by the end of 2024.  

Getting Drivers Onboard  

In order to obtain driver buy-in, UCB’s strategy involved expanding their range of electric vehicles, offering choices like Tesla Model 3 Long Range, Ford Lightning and BMW i4, among others. They have opened feedback channels with their driver community to continue optimizing their approach. UCB are also partnering with their FMC on an EV Playbook, plus internal promotional executive summaries to promote the success of the UCB Green Fleet Program.  

Linda exemplifies leadership and innovation in fleet management, making her an outstanding candidate for this award. Under her guidance, UCB’s fleet has become a beacon of sustainability and efficiency within the pharmaceutical industry. Her visionary approach to electrification and her commitment to aggressive CO2 reduction have propelled UCB’s fleet into a model of environmental stewardship.  

Linda’s relentless pursuit of a greener fleet has resulted in significant reductions in CO2 emissions, substantial fuel cost savings, and a transformative shift towards electric and hybrid vehicles. Through her dedicated efforts, UCB’s fleet now boasts an impressive 88.84% green conversion rate, positioning the company as a leader in corporate sustainability.  

Her work has not just met industry standards but has redefined them, making her a true trailblazer in the fleet management community.  

Sharon Etherington

Sr. Manager, Regional Administrative Services, Roche Diagnostics

Sharon Etherington is a decisive manager, a promoter of industry excellence and a fleet innovator. Her initiatives go back nearly a decade and encompass early adoption of fleet electrification, a strong safety program and the necessary driver engagement to make them work. During her 15+ years with Roche Diagnostics, Sharon has demonstrated how fleet is run when a manager with an inquisitive mind strives for continual improvement, accomplishes it—and then strives for more.

Some of her accomplishments include:  

• Has evolved her fleet to be 78.66% hybrid and 18.98% PHEV/BEV with a goal of being fully electric by 2030.  
• Built a strong change management program via quarterly newsletter, BEV and PHEV office hours, employing driver assessment, and gamification.  
• Instituted continuous MVR monitoring in 2020.  
• In 2023, the Fleet’s MPG increased 3.3% to 37.9 MPG. For 2024 YTD this increased to 40.59 MPG representing a 7% gain.  
• Most recent driver satisfaction rate of 88%.  
• Implemented a behind-the-wheel safety education and training in 2019.  
• For CY 2023 the accident rate was down 10.8% from 2022 (2022 was down 9.8% from 2021).  
• Preventable accidents were down 22.9% YOY in 2023.  
• Implemented Peer to Peer Comparison program in 2024  
• Executed the first campus driver training program in 2024  
• Administered the Driver Remediation Program for Severe Risk Drivers in 2024
• Guiding Roche as an early adopter of fleet electrification  

In 2005, Roche added a handful of hybrids to their fleet. Not much changed until 2016, when Sharon was challenged by Roche with an ambitious fuel economy goal. She took on the challenge and moved forward with exhaustive research that led her to take a hard look at everything available including the idea of expanding to more hybrids. While the advantages of fuel economy and sustainability were well known, this was still an innovative choice for that time. She made the decision to go with the hybrids.  

In the following years, Sharon continued to progressively add more hybrids and fuel-efficient models to the Roche fleet and now the rest of the fleet world is playing catch-up. By 2019, Roche ICE vehicle inventory was down to 40%. The number of PHEVs and BEVs added to the fleet has progressively increased each year, with MY2017 being the last year for significant acquisition of gas, diesel, or flex-fuel vehicles. Currently, her fleet is 78.66% hybrid and 18.98% PHEV/BEV. As older vehicles have cycled out, the fleet has evolved to being comprised almost entirely of hybrids, PHEVs and BEVs to be fully electric by 2030. Sharon is truly a fleet electrification pioneer and generously shares her leanings throughout the industry. Her fleet electrification initiative also supports Roche’s organization-wide goal of being Carbon Neutral by 2050. Sharon’s fleet contributed substantially to the company goal while also keeping an eye on cost containment. In 2023, the Fleet’s MPG increased 3.3% to 37.9MPG. In 2024 year to date the Fleet’s MPG has increased 7% to 40.59 MPG.  

Change Management  

Sharon has guided the transition to electrification for drivers with a well-planned change management program. Starting with assessing driver readiness, her program identifies drivers who will be most successful in moving to EVs and PHEVs. She follows up with vehicle training, acknowledgement of updated company policies, and driver EV experience surveys. She doesn’t simply put drivers into the necessary vehicles to accomplish acquisition goals, she keeps an eye on the data and uses gamification to encourage the right driver behaviors.  

When too much reliance on gas was an issue with some Plug-in Electric Hybrid drivers, Sharon started tracking each vehicle’s mileage and posting it. The positive recognition worked. Soon, the drivers became very competitive over mileage numbers and started to rely more on the electric capabilities of their vehicles in order to rise to the top of the ranking.

For CY2023, Roche benefited from a total savings of $2,592,200 which was comprised of $607,200 in hard dollar savings and $1,985,000 in cost avoidance savings. This was accomplished through working with OEMs for incentives, contractual rebates, time saved by directing drivers to mobile app usage and many other initiatives.  

Driver Satisfaction

While savings and efficiency for the fleet are always important, Sharon has never ignored the importance of ensuring that her drivers are satisfied with the vehicles where they spend so much time. The above-mentioned selectors allow ample opportunity for drivers to have their personal choices recognized. She has also instituted a program for driver-paid options, giving drivers some opportunity to customize vehicles to their preferences. This has paid off in the most recent driver satisfaction rate of 88% for happiness with new company vehicles.  

With an eye on continually improving, Sharon organized an innovation day for select drivers. A group visited their fleet management partner’s headquarters for a day of idea sharing and learning. This included a round-table discussion, interactive technology demonstrations and an electric vehicle ride and drive. The resulting learnings have cascaded to other fleets. Sharon also put in place monthly “BEV/PHEV Office Hours” for drivers. These scheduled drop-in type meetings give drivers an opportunity to speak, ask questions, voice concerns, share success stories, along with stories of frustration regarding the journey to electrification.  

Updating and Refining the Safety Program

Looking out for your drivers goes beyond providing vehicles that make them proud to be seen in. It’s important to set programs in place that help to bring each driver home safely each night. Sharon’s program promotes a safety culture as the overarching theme of the initiatives that she has instituted and demonstrates her ethic of continuous improvement.

While Roche had a safety program in place when she took over, Sharon decided to take on updating it and making it more comprehensive. Starting in 2020, she added continuous MVR monitoring, a variety of training programs, proactive lessons to all drivers regardless of risk level, and behind-the-wheel training. She pioneered a program of telematics devices being added to the vehicles of high-risk drivers. The plan is to expand the service fleet-wide in the future. Drivers involved in any high-risk activity are immediately assigned behind-the-wheel training and 1:1 coaching with their leader.  

Currently, Sharon is exploring expanded telematics/connected vehicles programs. Safety is always a first priority for Roche. Upon hire, drivers are assigned modules that emphasize the Roche safety culture. Each year, existing drivers must complete two additional modules and every three years they must take a behind the wheel training. Sharon brings her gamification approach to the safety program and regularly posts the names of those drivers who make the top one percent for safety. All of the training is backed up with safety-friendly selectors.  

New vehicle options include lane departure warning, cross traffic alert, forward collision warning, blind spot detection, back-up traffic alerts, and the choice of vehicles with five-star ratings to protect Roche drivers. The results of this refined safety program are impressive and continue to move to meet Sharon’s set goal of reduction of CPMM by 10% by 2025 (based on 2020 baseline). CY 2023 the accident rate was down 10.8% from 2022 (2022 was down 9.8% from 2021), with preventable accidents down 22.9% YOY.  

Promoting Driver Tools  

An area of efficiency for both the driver and Roche is Sharon’s push for her drivers’ use of electronic driver tools. She promotes and tracks the adoption rate of these tools—currently at a usage rate of 74%. The tools save drivers time in accessing documents, checking registrations and new vehicle status, fuel usage and completing monthly mileage reporting. The tools also assist Roche with reporting and analytics.

Commitment to Fleet  

Sharon is held in high regard in the fleet community as someone always willing to share what she has learned. She happily participates in industry events often serving on panels for NAFA, AFLA and Fleet Forward, and her support has been recognized.

Sharon has received the 2019 Fleet Visionary of the Year Award, the 2020 AALA Fleet Safety Award, and a 2022 AFLA President’s Award. Sharon Etherington sees the big picture for her fleet and analyzes each component that contributes to it.

Sharon’s impressive strides in electrification and sustainability have worked in tandem with her focus on risk and safety. Never completely satisfied, she will always go back and look for further improvement in all aspects of her fleet—and find it. And, along the way, she keeps her drivers happy.  

David Hayward

Sr. Manager, Fleet, ABM  

David Hayward is well-known in the fleet industry and freely shares his 20+ years of fleet expertise as an engaging speaker at industry events including NAFA’s I&E, AFLA, and The Global Fleet Conference. He leads fleet for ABM which is one of the world’s largest providers of facility solutions. In this role, David manages a large mixed fleet with an innovation mindset and dedicated, technology-enabled employees.  

Some recent accomplishments include:  

• Creating an “Amazon” type experience, named the “Fast Track Program” for vehicle ordering, resulting in upfit vehicles being delivered within 45 days at a savings of almost $3,700 per vehicle. This is a savings for ABM of $900k per year.  
• Partnering with finance to enable the creation of Fast Track.  
• Cutting vehicle upfit time from 180 days to 45 days.  
• Increasing factory ordering by 200%, resulting in MY2023 factory orders at 76% contrasted with stock orders of 32%.  

Supply Chain Challenge and Solution  

David joined ABM as Global Fleet Manager in February of 2022 when the pandemic supply chain impacts were still very much an industry challenge. The ABM fleet had historically relied on stock purchases and OEM pool programs to get vehicles quickly, which was necessary when they needed to ramp up for a new client contract.

For years, this method for vehicle acquisition worked for ABM—until the supply chain problems of COVID and microprocessor shortages made OEM pools virtually disappear. Dealer stock units became unavailable and the pricing soared. With considerable difficulty in sourcing vehicles for the field, ABM needed a new strategy for acquiring vehicles that would work with their need for fast turn-around when a new client was signed. As a seasoned fleet veteran, David developed a plan.  

A Strategy for New Realities – The Fast Track Program  

The ABM team needed to be able to navigate the new OEM allotment landscape and they recognized that dealer inventory was no longer a viable solution.

With his FMC onboard, David built a program from the ground up called “Fast Track” based on the development of an ABM in-house pool management system.

Under David’s leadership, ABM was able to weather a challenging acquisition climate with some real wins: an almost five-month reduction in delivery for newly upfitted factory vehicles with accompanying cost reductions.

The time from vehicle allotment to delivery of fully upfitted vehicles is now 45 days versus the previous average of 180 days. Factory orders are up by 200%: MY2023 factory orders were at 76% contrasted with stock orders of 32%. Even with added storage fees, the vehicle costs are considerably less than stock purchases.  

Fast Track Savings  

Through David’s Fast Track Program, the factory ordered vehicles, even with storage costs added, provided savings of $3,700 per vehicle with theadvantage of having themconsistently built.

For 2024, David has consolidated selectors and works with the same two primary upfitters. The annual savings are $900k annually. Ultimately, the redesigned program replicates the “Amazon Experience” for the ABM field.

Since 2022, David has been the driving force behind a groundbreaking fleet digital transformation initiative at ABM. Recognizing the need to streamline and automate fleet requests and functions for an organization managing over 6,000 assets, David leveraged ServiceNow to create a master database for fleet and driver information.

By integrating this database with ABM’s financial and HR systems, David ensured the elimination of any PPI issues in the feed to FMCs. The system’s automated links to internal groups like Risk/Insurance, DOT Compliance, Payroll, and external entities such as telematics providers, remarketing companies, and vehicle transportation companies, have led to significant operational efficiencies.  

Before this digital transformation, vehicle assignments, address changes, and billing codes required manual entry into multiple FMC systems. David’s initiative automated these processes through validated forms connected to the new database, reducing administrative time by approximately 80 hours per month and virtually eliminating data errors.

Currently, David is leading the second phase of the initiative, which will include branch-based cost and trend analyses and a replacement analysis tool to help local management identify and replace vehicles efficiently and cost-effectively.

Moreover, David has established a Fleet Governance Structure that brings together executive sponsorship with local leadership. This ensures that vehicles are fit for purpose, policies are understood, and processes are communicated throughout the organization. It also provides a pipeline for employees to propose new initiatives and assist in project implementation.  

Amid the supply chain challenges of recent years, David’s foresight led to the creation of an internal vehicle pool of new vehicles. In its first year, this initiative reduced the number of out-of-stock units acquired by over 80%, saving ABM more than $4 million. This vehicle pool remains active, facilitating fleet needs outside the usual twice-a-year replacement cycle.

David’s innovative approach, strategic foresight, and effective implementation have transformed ABM’s fleet operations, making him a deserving candidate for this prestigious award.  

Joseph Lukacs

Global Director of Fleet Operations, The Sherwin-Williams Company

Why Joe Lukacs Should Be Fleet Manager of the Year As a fleet veteran and a Six Sigma Black Belt, Joe Lukacs has made a career of developing and executing strategies at the highest levels. He has driven process improvements and cost savings for multiple organizations both domestically and globally, including in his current role at The Sherwin-Williams Company (SW). His nine-year tenure heading fleet at the organization encompasses many achievements.  

Joe’s most recent accomplishments include:  

• Management of a large mixed fleet of nearly 12,000 vehicles globally.  
• Creation of a hybrid pilot program resulting in a net increase of 3.2 mpg over the fleet’s ICE vehicles.  
• After an incremental increase in the fleet of almost 20% over the baseline year, SW has still registered a 2.7% YTD reduction of CO2 emissions from the fleet.  
• Leveraging the favorable remarketing environment of 2021-3, Joe generated a multi-million-dollar incremental increase in gains for SW, year over year.  
• Joe realized a 17.8% reduction in rental days for 2022-3.  
• Because of his vast industry expertise, Joe was chosen to serve on an EV Advisory Board for General Motors Fleet.  

With over 27 years in various roles at Sherwin-Williams, Joe currently manages a mixed commercial fleet of SUVs, vans, cargo vans, and trucks, totaling over 8,400 vehicles in the US with another 3,500+ worldwide. He is a seasoned and intuitive fleet manager with a staff of 13 direct and indirect reports, in addition to being a fleet innovator. He is constantly looking for new process improvements and cost savings opportunities to further enhance the organization’s bottom line. A proactive approach with all phases of his fleet, Joe keeps an eye on each aspect of his program. In 2021, he played an active role in a multi-faceted project to improve his rentals process. He engaged Sherwin-Williams, Ford and his FMC to collaborate in a deep dive and root cause analysis to determine the reasons and means of reducing the amount of fleet driver rental days. The project resulted in a dramatic 17.8% reduction in rental days for vehicles with mechanical issues, increasing uptime while generating significant cost savings.  

Joe’s FMC has adopted the process that he pioneered to use with their other fleets. Additional gains for Sherwin-Williams resulted when Joe leveraged the favorable remarketing environment of 2021-3. SW was able to generate a multi-million-dollar incremental increase in gains, year over year. He recognized that it was a remarketing environment that wouldn’t last.  

Contributing to Sherwin-Williams’ Sustainability Initiatives  

With an eye toward increasing his fleet’s contribution to the sustainability goals of his organization, in 2022 Joe added hybrids to the EV fleet to further reduce CO2 emissions. In 2023, the hybrid pilot had a net increase of 3.2 mpg over the fleet’s ICE vehicles. As supply chain constraints have begun to ease, Joe’s strategy going forward is to grow the hybrid fleet while also exploring the potential for other new technology. As an organization, SW has always driven technology and performance. Not only in coatings and manufacturing but also with their people. Joe, as a visionary, sees this success as a means to drive further sustainability goals as a company.  

An Ongoing EV Initiative  

As a true Black Belt, Joe implemented a systematic approach to developing his EV fleet: researching every possible aspect from sourcing vehicles to charging options and engaging his FMC to develop and refine an implementation process that would be scalable. When he started this process, he had a firm plan in place. In California, Sherwin-Williams is growing their EV footprint by converting more than 10% of their commercial vehicles to EVs, due to Joe’s keen focus on the potential for continuing growth. The result of adding EVs, along with other fuel efficiencies, has made a significant contribution to the carbon footprint at SW. After an incremental increase in the fleet of almost 20% over the baseline year, SW has still registered a 2.7% YTD reduction of CO2 emissions from the fleet. He sees the opportunity to show more sustainability and environmental gains in the future. With a continuous improvement mindset, Joe sees it as crucial to continue testing multiple brands and market segments to explore whether current and emerging products can meet the rigors of both his passenger and commercial fleets. He collaborates with OEMs by providing them with feedback that includes his own road-tested data which is important in improving their future products.

Change Management Initiative  

Often with new initiatives, there is the need to follow up with Change Management to mitigate any resistance. Alongside the tangible challenges of transitioning to electric vehicles, Joe has also nurtured a change culture and developed a program, which includes executive briefings, stakeholder buy-in, store trainings, driver education and the introduction of company policies.  

An Active Industry Collaborator  

Well known in the fleet industry, Joe continues to be active by maintaining seats on multiple boards (GM EV, GFAB – Global Fleet Advisory Board). He is always generous in sharing his time and expertise with both novices and seasoned peers providing advice, feedback and encouragement that has enriched many fleet careers. Joe has been an active participant in his FMC’s EV Summit, sharing his experience and wealth of knowledge on the subject of transitioning successfully to electric vehicles. He was also invited to sit on an exclusive electric vehicle advisory board for General Motors Fleet, providing invaluable feedback and sharing data and insights from the successes of his growing program, again demonstrating his thought leadership prowess and his skill at developing collaborative partnerships for Sherwin-Williams.  

Reinhard Pratt

EH&S Director, Sanofi

Reinhard focuses on the safety of his staff and is proactive about keeping them safe. To keep their company drivers out of harm’s way, they offer behind-the-wheel training and e-learning.

Thurman Register

Senior Fleet Manager, Ferguson Enterprises LLC  

The successful launch and adoption of in-cab camera technology have contributed to a 54% reduction in risky driving behaviors. During fleet industry disruption, created a competitive advantage through wins with OEM vehicle, asset order cycle acceptance rates, and production slots, directly attributed to customized replacement strategy methodology. Led fleet sustainability strategy reducing emissions, aligning with ESG targets, awarded maximum rebates in the California HVIP program for class 6-8 trucks. Led development and launch of EV charging as a service infrastructure to support EV initiative.  

Development of charging infrastructure – charging as a service (CaaS) to streamline future roll out of EV vehicles. Developed predictive modeling for specific diagnostic trouble codes linked to current diesel emission system failures. Led a multi-vendor maintenance campaign, resulting in cost savings of $1.2million in 14 months. Through vendor collaboration developed a core product to stream end of life vehicles and assets netting increase of $4 million in remarketing sales over last 12 months. Authored US & Canada fleet policies accepted by Executive governance.  

William (Billy) Wassmer

Sr Director of Fleet Operations, TruGreen

Billy is responsible for over 8,000 TruGreen vehicles in the US and Canada. He is well respected by his leadership, colleagues, and his team and strongly focuses on improving all aspects of fleet operations and efficiency. Billy is active in industry organizations like NTEA and others to stay well-connected and informed about fleet management, efficiency, and best practices in all aspects of his responsibilities.

To be great in your job, you must strive to gain appropriate knowledge and skills and enjoy what you do. Billy has these qualities, and he makes others around him better. His communication skills excel in even the toughest of conversations. Clear and concise direction when needing something makes things easier for everyone involved and allows the directive to be completed fully and in a timeframe that allows the highest value realized.  

The confidence and leadership he exhibits qualify him for this nomination and for being awarded Fleet Manager of the Year. Some of his internal goals are listed below, highlighting the confidence that TruGreen leadership has in Billy in making the TruGreen fleet the Best in Class. He also created a Guiding Coalition to redesign the fleet to optimize investment, extend and simplify operations for the TruGreen Technicians.  

Billy transformed maintenance program with 50% of vehicles under TruGreen care (in-house mechanic program), achieving the best preventative maintenance record in the history of TruGreen. This was accomplished through the implementation of an in-house mechanic program that focuses not only on vehicles but also on production equipment and has saved TruGreen several millions of dollars.  

Some of his accomplishments include:

• Optimizing data sets to manage fleet units and maintenance cost-effectively.  
• Developed centralized playbooks for lifecycle management of vehicles, production equipment, and in-house mechanic program.  
• Working closely with the Safety Department on deploying technology to reduce accidents for the company’s drivers.  
• Active participant with his FMC’s internal meetings along with participation of partnership “pilots” to offer expertise and key feedback before full roll out.  

Billy is “one of a kind,” a fantastic “TruGreen Sr. Director of Fleet,” and a great person.

Will Wittick

Regional Fleet and Property Manager, HomeX Services Group

Will consistently exudes the traits of a great fleet manager. Will is attentive, understanding, caring, and empathetic to the daily challenges that can be faced by a fleet and its drivers.

As someone who has only been working with Will on managing the HomeX fleet for a short time, it is quite obvious that the HomeX fleet would be severely lost without Will’s leadership and attention to detail.

Will is consistently working with Holman and his internal team to better the status of the fleet and should be celebrated as one of the industry’s best examples of what makes a great Fleet Manager.

2024 Judges 

A 17-member judging panel of industry professionals will determine the winner of the 2024 Fleet Manager of the Year award.

Frank Dankovich 

Director of Large Commercial Sales, Stellantis 

Greg Wood 

Commercial & Government Sales General Manager, Ford Motor Company 

Kevin Curran  

General Manager, Fleet Sales, Toyota Motor North America 

Sandor Piszar 

US VP, GM Envolve 

Jerry Zielinski 

Sr. manager, commercial sales, Nissan USA  

Chris Brown 

Associate Publisher, Automotive Fleet 

Brice Adamson 

President, Enterprise Fleet Management 

Marty Kuhn 

President, Mike Albert Fleet Solutions 

Shlomo Crandus 

CEO, Wheels 

Brad Burgess 

Interim Co-CEO, SVP Sales & Marketing, Merchants Fleet 

Eric Stanely  

Managing Director, Element Fleet Management 

Bob White 

President, Holman Fleet 

Matt Betz 

AFLA President / Global Fleet Conference Chair 

Sue Miller (2001 Winner)

Retired 

Erin Gilchrist Rugg (2019 Winner)

VP Fleet Evangelism, Intellishift 

Jim Petrillo (2021 Winner)

Manager, Treasury Service & Fleet Management, FUJIFILM Holdings America Corp. 

Jonathan Kammans (2022 Winner)

Vice President – Fleet, Equipment & Facilities, Hepaco, Inc.