AFLA Announces New Board Leaders

The Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA) announced today that seven members were recently elected and appointed to serve on their board.

Steve Bender, president/owner of Fleet Street Remarketing, was elected to serve as AFLA Secretary. 

Prior to joining Fleet Street in 2002, Bender owned and operated an independent software engineering company on Long Island, NY. His first project with Fleet Street involved a complete redesign of their systems. 

“My years serving on the board have taught me to truly understand the value that comes with being an engaged member of AFLA. I’m excited and humbled by the opportunity to lead this organization and look forward to building on future initiatives with all of you,” Bender said.

SuYvonne Bell, manager of sales operations at Gilead Sciences, Inc will, serve as the Director of Fleet. 

At Gilead Sciences, a pharma/biotech company headquartered in Foster City, Calif., Bell manages the North America fleet program, which includes field-based drivers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada and campus-based service fleet vehicles including IT, Facilities and Manufacturing.

“Board service fuels my desire to give back to an industry that has welcomed and taught me so very much,” Bell said.

Carrie Miller, VP of fleet partnership solutions & implementation at Element Fleet Management, will hold the office of Director of Fleet Management on the AFLA board. 

Miller’s proven leadership skills, versatility and passion for delivering strategic results distinguish her nearly 30 years of fleet industry experience.

“I’m honored to be recognized by my peers and elected to the AFLA Board of Directors. I look forward to making impactful contributions, leveraging my fleet expertise and network, while continuing to expand my fleet knowledge,” Miller said.

Jennifer Costabile will serve as Director of Manufacturers for the AFLA board. Costabile is currently the general director of rental sales, marketing and used vehicle activities at General Motors Fleet.

Costabile has held a variety of leadership roles throughout GM’s U.S. operations, with increasing responsibility, including zone manager, district manager, regional manager and regional marketing manager. During her time in the field, she worked directly with dealers to improve dealer relations, product and marketing effectiveness and developing the overall dealer network.  

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the AFLA board as Director of Manufacturers. With the current challenges we are all facing in the industry it’s more important than ever to use our experience and network as a community to adapt to the changes and provide best practices for a successful future,” Costabile said.

Yann Kulp has been appointed to serve a one-year term as Director of Allied Service Providers. Kulp is co-founder and VP business development at eIQ Mobility. 

Prior to eIQ Mobility, Kulp was the head of e-Mobility strategy North America for Schneider Electric, the $30 Billion Energy Management leader, and a key architect of the global strategy. Previously he led the US Smart thermostat/IoT business, and was director of marketing for the $1.2+ Billion controls & devices business in EMEAS for Schneider Electric, based in Paris. He also held strategy, sales & product roles in Europe and the U.S. prior to that.

"The fleet industry in North America is massive and is a critical component of our economic prosperity. But it is facing a tidal wave of change, from e-commerce, autonomous technology, regulations on clean air, ridesharing, connectivity and the migration to electric vehicles. I am excited to help AFLA and its fleet members build up EV expertise and develop EV strategies that are economically viable for their bottom line, realistic for their operations & customers, and good for our communities,” Kulp said.

Lori Olson will serve as Director at Large with AFLA. Olson is Pulse fleet sales director at Kinetech, LLC. 

Olson entered the fleet industry in 2014 as the fleet Sales director for Pulse by Safety First. She’s been instrumental in introducing Pulse to fleets for the first time in company history and has successfully built strategic partnerships to serve her Pulse clients well. 

“Thank you for entrusting me to serve as a board member for AFLA!  It will truly be an honor to collaborate with other fleet leaders to strengthen our membership network, while also continuing to provide valuable resources that will help us all lead more effectively,” Olson said.

Jon Stanley, executive director of B2B and strategy of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, continues as AFLA’s Director of Strategy. 

Stanley has over 13 years of experience in the automotive and fleet industry in various leadership roles at Bridgestone Americas, a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company.

“I appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve the AFLA membership and look forward to continuing to help guide the organization in the future,” Stanley said. 

AFLA’s new leaders will officially begin their terms at the close of the 2020 Virtual Corporate Fleet Conference, AFLA NextGen, which will be held Oct. 5 -7, 2020.