Amy McAdams didn’t set out to build a career in fleet.

She began her tenure with ABM Industries in 2007 as a senior accountant for the Security division. Three years later, as ABM consolidated services across its lines of business, an opening for corporate fleet manager gave McAdams an opportunity to take her career in a different direction.

She took the chance, and quickly discovered that no two days in fleet are the same.

More than 15 years into her fleet career, she has been recognized as a Fleet Visionary, earned her CAFM certification and serves on NAFA’s board of directors.

For this edition of Fleet Meets, McAdams shares how she found her way into fleet, what makes the job more complicated than it may appear and why she believes the future will be increasingly connected and predictive.

You’ve spent more than 15 years in fleet. How did you first find your way into the industry, and what made you stick with it?

In 2007, I began my tenure with ABM Industries as senior accountant for the Security division. Three years later, ABM began consolidating services across all lines of business, which meant that the accounting departments would be consolidated and staff reductions would take place.

At the same time, the corporate fleet manager decided to leave the organization. Since I love a good challenge, and our interim controller was now the VP of Shared Services, I applied and was hired for the role.

I quickly learned that no two days are the same. The dynamic nature of the fleet has kept me on my toes ever since.

You manage a fleet of roughly 2,700 vehicles supporting field service operations. What does a typical day look like for you, if there is such a thing?

There’s no such thing as typical. Expect the unexpected, and you’ll rarely be surprised.

Earlier in your career, you were recognized as a Fleet Visionary. Nearly a decade later, what does “innovation” in fleet mean to you now?

Innovation in fleet means staying current on the latest technologies. Even if the specific “new toy” isn’t something you use today, it may be an option or alternative in the future.

When I first became a fleet manager, telematics was fairly new; now it’s AI.

What is one fleet challenge that you think is much harder than it looks from the outside?

Juggling everything all at once.

On any given day, you can be working on specifications for the next order cycle, resolving a fuel card issue, reviewing a repair recommendation, communicating driver behavior reporting to leadership, locating a missing vehicle, educating a new driver on how the company’s fleet program works, or meeting with internal stakeholders to discuss and review accident claims. The list goes on and on.

You’ve been involved with NAFA for years and now serve on its board of directors. What have you learned from being connected to fleet professionals outside of your own operation?

First, we all have the same issues, regardless of what our company does, even government fleet managers.

Second, it’s been my experience that fleet managers are happy to share their experiences, good and bad. If I encounter something new, I have a deep bench of colleagues I can reach out to for guidance and advice.

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received, and is there any advice you’d give differently today?

Without a doubt, the best advice I received was to enroll in the CAFM program. I can’t count the number of times I have referred back to the education materials to guide a decision or presentation for leadership.

My advice to others is: Keep it simple. Sometimes the most obvious solution is the simplest one. Simplicity is much easier to convey to others when trying to get buy-in.

What is something people in the fleet industry would be surprised to learn about you outside of work?

I know I’ve shared a few times that my father was a dirt track racecar driver and I was named after his ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air.

In addition, only a few people know that I was a nationally ranked BCA pool player in college.

If you were an animal, what type of animal would you be — and why?

A quokka! They are the cutest little animal and always have a smiling face.

Finish this sentence: “The future of fleet is _____.”

The future of fleet is connected, predictive and powered by real-time intelligence.

As fleet managers, we should focus on telematics, IoT integration, AI-driven predictive maintenance, and moving from reactive repairs to data-informed asset management.