Former NAFA President Gayle Pratt to Retire from EcoLab
Gayle Pratt, director global fleet for Ecolab, Inc. in St. Paul, Minn., retired March 22, 2013, capping a 35-year career that included management of corporate, public, and private fleet, along with travel operations. Succeeding Pratt is Andy Coulter, director of indirect procurement and global fleet for EcoLab, Inc.
Gayle Pratt, director global fleet for Ecolab, Inc. in St. Paul, Minn., retired March 22, 2013, capping a 35-year career that included management of corporate, public, and private fleet, along with travel operations. Succeeding Pratt is Andy Coulter, director of indirect procurement and global fleet for EcoLab, Inc.
Pratt worked at Ecolab from 2004-2013 in global supply chain, procurement function. Pratt directed the North American fleet operations of 8,000 vehicles in sales and service fleets, and the global fleet of 18,000 vehicles in 78 countries. Her responsibilities included strategic global and regional supplier sourcing and relationships for products/services, fleet budgets, and sustainability plans. Among her achievements, she directed the fleet cost savings programs, and integrated fleet services for the 16 Ecolab businesses.
Ad Loading...
Pratt also volunteered for NAFA Fleet Management Association since 1994 in committee chair, officer, and trustee positions. She was NAFA president from 2007 to 2009.
Prior to this, Pratt worked for the State of Michigan from 1998 to 2004. She worked in the Department of Management and Budget as director of logistics and director of vehicle & travel services.
She directed and oversaw the logistics division that consisted of mail and delivery trucks and routes, heavy equipment trucks and routes, state warehouses, state and federal surplus warehouses and stores. During her career with the State of Michigan, she also directed the vehicle and travel services for the state, which consisted of hundreds of locations throughout Michigan, and 28 departments. She oversaw all aspects of the internal service fund and business for vehicle and travel services. The fleet exceeded 12,000 vehicles with centralized fleet maintenance garage operations, including collision centers, paint booths, satellite garage sites, centralized fueling, and underground storage tanks and monitoring systems.
From 1989 to 1998, Pratt worked for LabCorp (Laboratory Corporation of America) in Burlington, N.C., as the director of fleet and distribution. She managed more than 3,500 light-duty vehicles in North America. Pratt began her fleet career in 1978 at Onan Corp., a Cummins subsidiary, in Fridley, Minn.
“I’m very excited to enjoy time off to relax, do a little gardening, and enjoy life,” said Pratt.
AI is no longer a future concept for fleets—it’s already embedded in the tools, data, and decisions that operators rely on every day. In this episode of the Fleet Forward Podcast, recorded live at Fleet Forward, industry leaders take the conversation beyond hype to examine what responsible AI adoption really looks like in fleet operations.
As fleets rethink how they capture, manage, and act on vehicle data, telematics is at a major inflection point. In this episode of the Fleet Forward Podcast, we dive deep into one of the most pressing questions facing fleet leaders today: Should you rely on OEM factory-installed connectivity, aftermarket devices, or a hybrid of both?
Experts from telematics analytics, fleet-as-a-service operations, and national EV benchmarking share how real-time data is reshaping fleet strategy—dispelling assumptions, validating best practices, and exposing costly missteps.
A powerhouse panel featuring experts from the American Automotive Leasing Association, CalSTART, and municipal fleet leadership dives into the realities of navigating shifting emissions rules, regulatory waivers, federal agency actions, the future of the EPA’s endangerment finding, and the push for unified standards. They also examine the impacts of tariffs, autonomous vehicle policy, battery innovation, and the accelerating global EV market.
This episode kicks off with a deep dive into the technologies and market forces reshaping today’s fleet landscape. Host Chris Brown is joined by Laolu Adeola (Leke Services), Tyson Jomini (J.D. Power), and Richard Hall (ZappiRide) to break down real-world data, shifting incentives, and practical strategies fleet leaders can use right now.
In the middle of natural disasters fleet managers must shift priorities to protect people and assets. What policy items should be loosened, and when should the line be held?
In this episode, fleet leaders from municipal, university, and private-sector organizations share a candid EV reality check. From infrastructure setbacks and policy whiplash to grant funding, total cost of ownership, and charging resiliency, this conversation dives into what it actually takes to scale electrification in the real world.
After a decade of lagging compensation, fleet manager pay is climbing. But expanding responsibilities, larger fleets, and growing complexity continue to redefine the role.
