Pete Silva, PepsiCo's acclaimed fleet director, retired Monday after 32 years of service, including the last 14 in fleet operations and purchasing for the multinational food-and-beverage corporation.

Silva leaves his role as senior director of fleet procurement at PepsiCo and indirect purchasing for FritoLay. Silva is highly regarded in the commercial fleet industry, and served on many client advisory boards. In 2008, Silva was named the Fleet Executive of the Year by Fleet Financials magazine.

"I worked for a great company and learned a lot about the fleet industry thanks to Automotive Fleet magazine and the many other periodicals produced by Bobit Business Media," said Silva. "I look forward to starting the next phase of my career and life. As for today, I'm out fishing!"

Silva's most significant accomplishment at PepsiCo has been developing purchasing synergy between the company's operating units and its bottlers. Prior to Silva's leadership, each operating unit executed its own purchasing contracts and processes, which led to an inconsistent vendor base and pricing structure. By consolidating the purchasing effort, strategic alliances were developed with suppliers, and the operating units could share best practices and benefit from volume leveraged pricing.

Silva started at PepsiCo/FritoLay in 1982, working in plant operations management. During the next 16 years, Silva worked in plant operations in California (Rancho Cucamonga, Kern, Casa Grande, and Pleasanton) and later in Irving, Texas; Jonesboro, Ark.; and Plano, Texas.

Silva got his start in fleet in 1998 working as the fleet director for FritoLay, a position he held until 2004. He started his working career in 1980 while still at college as a co-op industrial engineer at The Walt Disney Company.

By Mike Antich