At the Global Fleet Conference in Miami, FL., at the end of October, several new inductees into the Global Fleet Hall of Fame were honored and entered an elite group of historical global fleet contributors. In no particular order, they appear below. On behalf of Bobit and Automotive Fleet magazine, congratulations to the 2021 inductees!

Joe La Rosa, Merck

Joe La Rosa was the first fleet manager to helm a Canadian Fleet and the U.S. Fleet from the U.S. office, and helped establish the NA OEM contract, which included Mexico. He successfully developed a true global fleet policy and Global Fleet Council for fleet operations, HR, EHS and Sr. Sales Leadership in EMEA, NA, LATAM, and APAC countries (approximately 110). He also consolidated nearly 20 global OEMs down to 4, and served on domestic and international/global OEM sounding boards simultaneously. 

Steve Higgs, GM

Steve Higgs developed an internal business process to leverage international business sales, service, and parts opportunities using localized supply from the international portfolio coverage via a central management group. He was later assigned global manager to enable a trusted “One Stop Shop” for internal and external customers, and then established the first global customer agreement and global sounding board, enabling customer global fleet managers to physically meet their local contacts and understand local decision parameters, business programs, and portfolio choices.

Richard Pipenhagen, LeasePlan International

Richard Pipenhagen was promoted to senior vice president of global sales & marketing in 1996 and pioneered the launch of that division at LeasePlan USA. He worked in tandem with LeasePlan USA regional sales and LeasePlan International Sales team, which was domiciled in the Pan European marketplace. He also brought prolific multinational opportunities to fruition with clients such as Allergan, Mattel, Philip Morris, and Johnson Controls.

John Dmochowsky, Mondelez International

John Dmochowsky created a world-class multinational fleet of 10,100 vehicles in just four years for Mondelez International. He served as president of AFLA from 2013-2014; was awarded Fleet Manager of the Year in the U.S.; in 2019, he was runner-up for Global Fleet Manager of the Year and also European Safety Fleet Manager of the Year.

Mike Sims, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Mike Sims instituted constant training and process improvement with 15 area offices covering 142 countries. He became known for superior customer service, his ability to build and maintain relationships and improve built-in processes; he was also celebrated for his attention to detail, knowing the fleet operation and inventory, and his consistency while allowing for individual geographic anomalies. He was also adept at leveraging key business partners. 

Jim Rallo, PHH

Jim Rallo pushed the international group at PHH to find a European partner for fleet operations, leading to an alliance with Arval. He continued expanding global fleet services and capabilities after the PHH sale to Cendant, and later established more corporate alliances (including Japan and Thailand), culminating with Avis Southern Africa in 1999 and later Mexico. He encouraged NAFA to think more globally on behalf of its private sector members.