Automotive Fleet's Professional Fleet Manager Award draws an annual list of nominees who are among the most distinguished fleet managers in America.

This year is no different. The award, created in 1985, will be presented to the fleet manager who has demonstrated "exemplary professional ability and leadership qualities in developing and implementing effective fleet policies and programs."

A personalized, inscribed trophy will be presented to this year's winner. In addition, the winner's name will be added to a larger, perpetual trophy which commemorates the honor. A $2,000 scholarship also will be given in the winner's name to an accredited university business school as part of the award.

The presentation will take place during the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association's annual convention in Houston, TX, on Sunday, April 22. The award winner is selected by a panel of judges representing all aspects of the industry. Judges representing fleet management are Ron Pink of Xerox, Richard Catino of Digital Equipment, and George Weimer of Contel. Judges George Frink of Chevrolet, Don Langefeld of Lincoln-Mercury, and Hal Barton of Chrysler represent factories. Judge Ed Bobit of Automotive Fleet will cast the media ballot. From the lessor community are judges Frank Churchill of GE Capital Fleet Services, Mike Laporta of ARI, and Jim Culotta of McCullagh Leasing. Fleet dealer judges are Don Fenton of Paul Fleet Group, Larry Benner of Nally Chevrolet, and Joe David of Pacifico Ford. Judge Warren Young of Manheim Auctions will represent the auction industry.

The award winner will be that person who is judged to have demonstrated exceptional business acumen in developing and executing key fleet management policies. Some of the areas judges will focus on include: driver eligibility and safety, operating costs, vehicle selection, service and repair, replacement cycling, used-car merchandising, financial analysis, and industry leadership. This year's nominees are the following:

Robert Borchert

Borchert is a 19-year employee of Johnson Controls, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Recently, Borchert downsized a segment of the van fleet for a yearly savings of $396,000 - without productivity losses. In addition, he has developed and administered the company's imputed income program for personal use of company vehicles to comply with IRS regulations. And, perhaps more importantly, he has established an expense control reporting program to minimize fuel and repair costs for the firm's 2,945-vehicle fleet.

Borchert also is active professionally. He has been a NAFA member since 1970, and is a charter member of the Fleet Manager Association, a working group of fleet administrators which represents corporations located in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Borchert also helped to create the Greater Wisconsin Chapter of NAFA, which was chartered in January. He is vice chairman of the chapter. On the industry side, Borchert is a member of the Ford Fleet Advisory Panel.

Jane Crabbe

Jane Crabbe became fleet manager in 1974 for Roche Biomedical Laboratories, Burlington. NC, when it only had 125 cars. Since then, her responsibility has grown to cover more than 1,600 vehicles.

In 1986, when Crabbe was responsible for 1,140 cars and trucks, she began work on her first major career milestone: reducing costs. In 1985, fleet costs were 3.48 percent of gross sales, but by 1988 she had whittled that figure down to 2.7 percent, and she is currently working to drop that percentage even further.

While on the road to cost reductions, the company promoted her to assistant vice president, national fleet and safety services. In that capacity, Crabbe updated a safety program she authored in 1974 by tightening up hiring practices and improving driver safely programs. She is also a charter member of NAFA's Carolina's Chapter (formed in 1979), and has served every year as an officer.

Cliff Hayden

Hayden is director - buildings, fleet, and energy for GTE Supply, headquartered in Irving, TX. The operations cover 31 states and two provinces of Canada, 40,000 vehicles, 6,500 buildings, and energy expenses amounting to $120 million per year.

As if that is not enough responsibility, Hayden also is a member of the U.S. Department of Energy's Research Advisory Board, which reports to the Secretary of Energy. As such, Hayden has become an expert on alternative fuels and is positioned to offer input on national policies on environmental issues.

In 1986, Hayden was honored with an award by the Department of Energy's Advisory Board as an outstanding leader internationally in the development of electric-powered vehicles.

Through a completely computerized system, Hayden monitors GTE's operations. He is also a member of the GTE Vehicle Steering Committee which coordinates activities with all fleets throughout GTE, providing maintenance, initiating energy conservation programs, and strategic planning.

Hayden is also a member of NAFA, the Private Truck Council of America, and the Society of Automotive Engineers.

Fred Glantzberg

During the past 32 years that Glantzberg has worked for Union Carbide in Danbury, CT, he has held numerous responsibilities in chemical plant operations. The breadth of his talents includes experience in engineering, production, materials management, distribution, maintenance, safety and training, and procurement of materials.

Naturally, when Glantzberg assumed responsibility in 1986 for buying fleet vehicles as the purchasing manager for the company's distribution facilities and equipment division, he applied his varied background to the task.

Glantzberg oversees a fleet of 3,000 leased vehicles, plus another 1,500 which are owned, all of them spread throughout divisions and subsidiaries in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. His accomplishments include: application of EDI technology for payment of vehicle lease and maintenance invoicing; development of a cellular telephone program and service support billing services; simplification of driver expense and personal mileage reporting; implementation of lessor/lessee computer interface for ordering and data changes; and promoting a better understanding throughout Union Carbide of the economics and related benefits of leasing, as well as an appreciation of the function of fleet vehicles.

Glenn Dinkheller

Dinkheller is the manager of fleet and facilities at Mosler Inc., Hamilton, OH, a growing high-tech corporate security company with 1,125 vehicles and 90 facilities nationwide. He joined Mosler in 1980.

Beginning in the early '80s, Dinkheller directed a downsizing program from full-size vans and trucks to compact pickups and more fuel efficient vans, reaching the current mix of 80 percent light-duty trucks and 20percent cars. That move helped to hold Mosler's vehicle costs relatively constant despite double-digit inflation.

Dinkheller has focused on safely, too, achieving a 40 percent reduction in the number of accidents since 1984. In connection with that, Dinkheller has initialed an in-house insurance program which identifies common accident factors, such as location and similarity of accident circumstances.

For the past two years, Dinkheller has served on the Ford Fleet Advisory Panel, and last year he was asked to participate on the NAFA Masters Forum which developed the "Fleet Spec" car that was presented to manufacturers for evaluation.

Tim Hoffmann

Hoffmann manages 3M's worldwide fleet from the corporation's St. Paul, MN, headquarters. Titled manager of employee transportation and training, Hoffmann reached that position within 10 years after hiring in as a mechanic.

Hoffmann's responsibilities include policy development, administration, vehicle procurement, marketing, and operations. Hoffmann has started a number of successful programs, including 3M's Safe Driving Program, a corporate fleet management system which allows for information storage/retrieval, procedures streamlining, cost-cutting in vehicle procurement and marketing, and the negotiating of contracts with a car-rental company and airline.

A NAFA member since 1978, Hoffmann has been treasurer, vice chairman, and chairman of the North Central Chapter.

Susan Stupak-Miller

After a two-year stint as auto fleet manager at Keebler Co., Stupak-Miller joined McDonald's, Oakbrook, IL, in 1986 as domestic fleet supervisor and quickly initiated a fleet contact meeting - a three-day training seminar for the 39 field fleet coordinators nationwide. The company's fleet policy and procedures manual has been rewritten and updated under her direction.

Stupak-Miller's attention to costs led her to reexamine company cost controls and maintain minimal cost increases annually.

Stupak-Miller's career interest in fleet began in 1978 when she served as administrative secretary to the assistant treasurer for ServiceMaster Industries, and when the company created the position of fleet coordinator, she was chosen. Subsequently, Stupak-Miller was hired to administer the 1,400-vehicle fleet operation for A.B. Dick Co. in Chicago, IL, in 1980, and in 1984 she went to Keebler Co.'s 1,950-vehicle fleet.

Stupak-Miller has been involved with NAFA since 1979 and was elected secretary of the Chicago Chapter in 1983 and chairperson in 1985. In addition, she was a contributor to the committee which planned the 1986 NAFA national meeting.

Henry Paetzel

More than 20 years ago, Paetzel took a job at General Mills, Minneapolis, MN, as a management trainee, never thinking he would one day administer the company's 1,800-vehicle fleet as manager of auto fleet services.

Paetzel has developed fleet programs for acquisition, administration, operation, disposal of company vehicles, and in meeting cost control goals through vehicle selection. He has also implemented an economical and effective car-rental program for employee business travelers, guidelines for the company's auto service facility and executive garage, and, he has maintained management information systems which provide data on these activities.

In addition, Paetzel established an original dealer network and purchase order system for vehicle acquisition. Moreover, he has put in place a vehicle selection policy that is based on net-holding cost and fuel efficiency. He has also created a management information system for acquisition orders and asset management.

A NAFA member since 1971, Paetzel has served as chairman of the North Central Chapter, and is also a former member of the board of directors of AFLA.

Leland Ross

Ross is the area operations manager for New England Telephone's Boston-based headquarters, from which he oversees a diverse fleet of 7,500 vehicles spread across a five-state area.

During his tenure with NET, Ross has handled budgeting, bidding, procurement policy, and resales. For instance, Ross developed the company's first lease arrangement in 1985 in conjunction with the company's corporate finance group, and, at a later time, streamlined NET's preventive maintenance program along with parts replenishment procedures. Additionally, Ross has provided a variety of cost analysis tools for local field management.

Ross' responsibilities also include: training mechanics and supervisors; accident investigation/recommendation; liaison with insurance companies, and interacting with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Besides being active in NAFA, Ross is affiliated with the Society of Automotive Engineers. Since the breakup of AT&T, Ross has maintained an informal association of Bell Operating Companies motor vehicle supervisors to exchange useful information on the management of telephone utility fleets.

Charles Schnerr

Schnerr joined Campbell (soup) Sales Company, Camden, NJ, in 1949. As manager budget/fleet administration, Schnerr has reduced the annual fleet cost per vehicle by 32 percent (constant dollars adjusted for inflation). Moreover, during that same period, Schnerr upgraded vehicle selection to larger, better equipped, and more fuel-efficient cars.

Schnerr's ideas have proven successful in virtually every area he has touched. For instance, he obtained fleet financing that has resulted in improved cash flow and a savings of more than $1 million over a three-year period. References to that fleet accomplishment - as well as other applicable segments - have been included in financial presentations - heightening the image of fleet to top management.

Safety, auditing, and expense areas have also fallen under Schnerr's scrutiny as he has reduced vehicle repair downtime, eliminated 20 forms and six internal procedures in daily operations, and designed a computerized format to maintain current standings on vehicle inventory. A NAFA member since 1968, Schnerr is a resident instructor in the NAFA Educational Program.

Gordon West

West, who has instituted many modern fleet practices at Pfizer, Inc.'s New York City corporate headquarters, has also emerged as a voice for NAFA on national issues - most recently in testifying before Congress on the newly-created Office of Depreciation Analysis (Treasury Department), which is considering the alignment of the government's vehicle depreciation tax schedule with common industry recordkeeping.

In terms of fleet recycling, Pfizer's employee sales program (at 35 percent) exceeds the national average. He is also responsible for developing fleet policy and procedures for vehicle equipment and selection, maintenance control, personal use chargeback, and all financial planning which relates to his position as corporate fleet manager.

Prior to being promoted to that position in 1980, West was manager of financial operations for Pfizer's agricultural division. Currently, West is completing his 1989-1990 term as NAFA first vice president, and he is also a member of the board of trustees of NAFA.

Sal Giacchi

Sal Giacchi has not only modernized the fleet management techniques at J. Lorillard, Inc., New York, NY, but has been instrumental in effecting substantial savings for the company in developing a lease-versus-buy formula which has resulted in the company's leasing policy.

There are a number of other firsts in Giacchi's career, including: selection as one of the first 10 people to receive the designation of 'Certified Fleet Manager' from the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania); and he developed Lorillard's first automotive newsletter Wheels in Motion, which company officials credit with helping reduce business-related accidents by 14 percent.

In addition, Giacchi has produced savings in excess of $5 million, accrued in such areas as fuel, maintenance, tires, auto sales, rebate programs, and the refinancing of leased vehicles. An active member of NAFA, he has held numerous offices in the organization's New York chapter, and he is a past president of AFLA.

Elvie Pizzo

Pizzo has been involved with all aspects of fleet operations for 18 years, but when her company, Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts, merged in 1987 with the British firm of Allied Lyons to form Hiram Walker-Allied Vintners, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, she faced the challenge of unifying new policies and procedures with those already in place.

Many of those business practices were aimed at fleet operations in an effort to identify the strategy for quality and service in the company's 700-vehicle fleet. During that period, Pizzo changed the nature of fleet operations by:

  • Developing a contractual bid process to consolidate all North America requirements;
  • Negotiating a three-year lease contract with GE Capital Fleet Services;
  • And introducing new policies relative to fleet incentive rebates.

Pizzo has been a member of the Michigan chapter of NAFA and has served as an officer in various capacities from 1986. Presently, she is vice chairperson. In addition, she is a participant in the GE Capital Client Council for both the United States and Canada.

Robert Wagner

Wagner has been fleet manager for Eaton Corp., Cleveland, OH, since 1982, and in that period of time, he has designed computer reporting systems to help management track personal use charges, vehicle ordering, vehicle replacement, and vehicle sale analysis.

The insight Wagner produces through such innovations has made him frequently sought after as a participant on many leading lessor panels.

In his capacity, Wagner is also directly responsible for the acquisition, operation, and disposal of the company's 1,600 autos, light trucks and vans - located throughout the United States and Canada.

Wagner also negotiates lease contracts and administers the company's national account program for vehicle maintenance. Wagner is a longtime member of NAFA and has served as Western reserve chapter chairman and past co-chairman of the national membership committee. Currently, he is vice chairman of the national education committee.

 

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