Kim Brown, Heidelberg USA, Inc.

Kim Brown retired in January 2022 as fleet & insurance manager for Heidelberg USA, Inc., based in Kennesaw, Georgia.  Brown joined Heidelberg USA in 1994. During her career, she managed, on average, 500 company vehicles in the U.S. and 150 in Canada. 

During her tenure as fleet manager, Brown was respected by her management team and drivers because of Heidelberg USA’s fleet operations focus on safety, downtime prevention, and driver productivity. In addition, she negotiated with manufacturers and vendors to lower fleet costs and managed order cycles to take advantage of the optimum resale markets. In the early days of the Internet, Brown helped create a comprehensive internal Web site for drivers that helped her implement and enforce company fleet policy. In a past interview, Brown was asked what advice she would give someone just entering fleet – “Always remember there are two sides to every story. Expect the unexpected.”

Brown said her retirement plans include spending more time with family and friends, traveling, and volunteering.  

Succeeding Brown is Cornell Morgan, fleet & insurance manager for Heidelberg USA, Inc. Morgan brings many years of experience and a wealth of knowledge from holding a variety of roles on the financial side of the business. His experience with the financial operations, systems, and processes from within Heidelberg along with an understanding of the organizational culture as it continues to revamp and evolve will enable him to adapt to his new role relatively quickly. Over his 30-plus years, Morgan’s participation in many different programs such as the successful rollout of the online expense management system has already exposed him to understanding the needs of the field based employees and the home office employees.  

“Heidelberg has been a reliable and highly innovative partner to the global printing industry for more than 170 years,” said Morgan. “While we are a company with a long tradition, we are also helping to define the future trends in our industry with state-of-the-art technologies and innovative business ideas – moving away from mass production and towards individualization. Customers are at the heart of our business, and our customer-centric approach is continuously evolving.” 

Morgan added: “We have developed our portfolio with products for prepress, printing, postpress, packaging, service, consumables and software solutions, with a strong focus on a digital future. Above all, we seek to create customized solutions for our customers – combining individual product offerings to maximize productivity and profitability.”

Tom Krause, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company (WBMI)

Tom Krause, purchasing/fleet manager | financial services for West Bend Mutual Insurance Company (WBMI) in West Bend, Wisconsin, retired on Feb. 18, 2022. For the past 30 years, Krause has led the WBMI fleet. Krause joined the company in 1992 as its purchasing and fleet manager. As purchasing/fleet manager, Krause purchased goods and services for the company’s home office, subsidiaries, and associates working remotely in 13 states. He also handed the non-executive portion of corporate travel requirements, maintained fix asset data, and managed the entire fleet operation.

“The fleet operation is located in the financial division on paper, but, in reality, it is part of virtually every department in the company,” said Krause in a 2013 interview the AF sister magazine Fleet Financials. Krause also added that being part of the WBMI “financial family” helped him ensure that fleet financials stay in line with the company goals.

Looking back on his career, Krause said: “By nature I am a numbers guy and by heredity I am a car guy as my father was a car dealer. Combine these two attributes and the result is that I take a very personal interest in the fleet. The interest typically doesn’t allow much room for surprises.” 

Operating a relatively small fleet, Krause personally met most of West Bend’s drivers allowing him to build a trust and rapport with them. “We put significant thought and energy in selecting a vehicle for our associates,” said Krause. “Their office is a 2-ton vehicle. Just as not every work station or office is a ‘one size fits all,’ we need to accommodate various needs of the drivers.”

During his fleet career, Krause was very active in the NAFA Wisconsin Chapter holding various leadership positions in the chapter organization.