Fleet Europe honored several fleet managers and stakeholders for outstanding achievements in various categories of fleet management at the 2017 Fleet Europe Summit in Estoril, Portugal, including the European Fleet Manager of the Year and the inaugural Global Fleet Manager of the Year Award.

Juergen Freitag, head of Global Fleet Management at Siemens AG, received the inaugural Global Fleet Manager award, which was created to recognize expanding globalization within the fleet industry. The Global Fleet Manager of the Year Award aims to honor a team or person managing a fleet at global level (on at least two continents) who has successfully developed a global fleet management approach, according to Fleet Europe. Freitag is responsible for 48,000 vehicles worldwide.

The runner-ups for the inaugural award were Lee Warner, global fleet manager at Unilever and Kim Stenberg, head of Global Fleet Procurement at Vestas Wind Systems.

Also featured during the ceremony was the announcement of the 2017 Fleet Europe European Fleet Manager of the Year Award, which went to Peter Szelenyi, global fleet category manager and regional travel category manager region Europe at Novartis AG. This award honors the person or team having most successfully developed an international fleet management strategy and implemented an efficient Europe-wide car policy. Szelenyi is responsible for 30,000 vehicles worldwide.

Meanwhile, the International Fleet Hall of Fame Award went to Tim Albertsen. Albertsen serves as group deputy CEO at ALD S.A., and oversees his company’s subsidiaries throughout Europe and Asia, and is also in charge of ALD's Remarketing activities, and co-chairs the Group's Strategy team. He started his career in the leasing and rental business in Denmark, fulfilling various managerial roles at Avis and Axus. After ALD's acquisition of Axus, he was appointed regional director in 2005, group COO in 2008, and finally group deputy CEO in 2011

This was the 11th edition of the event, which is organized by Fleet Europe.

Other major award winners announced at the forum included the International Fleet Safety Award winner, winner of the Smart Mobility Start-Up Award, the International Fleet Mobility Award winner, and more.

The International Fleet Safety Award went to Heineken, which was represented by Adriana Holban, global buyer, and Reyes Gonzalez, global safety manager, both of Heineken. This award celebrates a company that has successfully implemented a driver safety project thus encouraging others to do the same. Both Holban and Gonzales are responsible for 18,000 vehicles worldwide.

The International Fleet Mobility Award was awarded to Accenture, which was represented by Alexandra Melville, the company’s global category expert car for fleet and mobility.  This award is presented to a company that has successfully implemented a green project and/or initiative in efficient alternative mobility.

The International Fleet Innovation Award was given to SAP, and collected by Markus Falk, head of global car fleet at SAP. This award celebrates a project that stands out in a specific area of fleet management innovation. Falk is responsible for 23,000 vehicles worldwide.

The 2017 Smart Mobility Start-Up Award was presented to PARKD, which celebrates excellence in start-ups from the fleet and lease ecosphere. It is awarded based on levels of innovation, efficiency, implementation, impact and future prospects for the services and products.  

Finally, the International Fleet Industry Award was presented to Tesla for its Autopilot feature. This category celebrates the role of suppliers in enhancing fleet management, and is designed to highlight innovative tools, products or services offered by international fleet suppliers that help global fleet managers to optimise their car fleet.

The award ceremony was attended by over 800 international car fleet and mobility professionals from around the globe.