Photo: LAI Fleet’s Anna Goodman
By Fleet Management Weekly Staff
September 3, 2025
Managing a fleet is no easy task, regardless of its size. A fleet management company (FMC) can handle various logistics, including acquisition, branding, maintenance, and remarketing. However, while small- and medium-sized fleets are often overlooked by larger providers, FMCs like LAI Fleet have built a reputation for delivering full-service fleet leasing and management solutions to fleets of all sizes.
Formerly known as Leasing Associates, LAI Fleet has a legacy spanning over 65 years. The company operates nationwide, working with fleets to manage the entire lifecycle of their vehicles. Whether a fleet has a dozen passenger cars or a thousand heavy-duty trucks, LAI Fleet offers cost-effective fleet management solutions tailored to each fleet’s needs. This includes access to a nationwide network of dealers and upfitters to get vehicles up and running and where they need to go.
We spoke with Anna Goodman, a Fleet Account Executive at LAI Fleet, to learn more about how the company operates, what it offers fleets, and the biggest challenges facing the industry today.
Tell me about LAI Fleet. Who are you, and what would you like fleet managers to know about you?
LAI Fleet is based in Houston, Texas, with 11 locations nationally: six are in Texas. I manage the West Coast, supported by my boss Duane and our team in San Antonio. While we’re a small FMC compared to the big guys, we do the same things they do, but we think we do them better.
We take pride in having a single point of contact. There are no phone trees and our clients have our cell phone numbers. That’s a core value for us at LAI – having one point of contact and always knowing who your representative is. We don’t transition accounts, so when we sign on as partners, we’re with you for the long term.
We were founded in Texas in 1958 to help the smaller oil and gas companies. Our founder realized that big companies were being serviced by big FMCs, with no one to help the “little guys.” We do have very large clients, of course, but we’ll also lease one van to a plumber- in fact, our President Mark just told us in our sales meeting yesterday that we have 700 clients with just one unit!
We’re happy to help anyone who can benefit from our services, but our primary focus is on fleets of between 10 and 50 vehicles. That’s the ideal client I go after. Each of our branches seem to have its own niche – our Boston office, for example, works a lot with nonprofits and hotels. At my office, I am calling primarily on plumbers, HVAC, and construction companies. We can work with anyone with a business license. It can be overwhelming so having an industry to focus on is helpful for me.
How do you differentiate yourselves from your competitors, both big and small?
We offer high-touch customer service and one point of contact – people really value that. We are nimble and really will do everything we can to help our clients. We don’t charge many of the fees that the bigger FMCs typically do, such as delivery or acquisition fees. We also don’t charge interim interest, which is quite noteworthy. That’s something that most FMCs do, and while we could, we don’t.
We are happy to pull from dealer stock. We are very well-networked with dealerships across the country and they like working with us. When I source units up and down the West Coast, I call my partners (many of whom are friends) and I know I can pass along the best prices to my customers. Our business grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily due to the strength of those relationships. When people were having a hard time finding vehicles, we were able to source them and it helped us sign on many new clients.
Can you share a success story about a fleet you’ve worked with and how you’ve helped them?
I have a client named Alex, with That1Painter in Seattle. When he called me, he gave me one of the most significant challenges of my career thus far. I had a month to acquire many hard-to-get vehicles, specifically Mavericks, which had been on stop-sale due to a recall. He was getting ready to launch his business and needed these trucks in place — fully wrapped, with bedliners and everything — delivered in time for the Fourth of July parade in his small town of Edmonds.
There were plenty of roadblocks – including not having corporate-approved graphics for the wraps. The really great thing was that though Alex and I had never met in person, he trusted me to do my job. Our motto at LAI is “let us take care of your vehicles so you can focus on your business.”
We also work with Sierra James Construction over in Bend, Oregon. They called me this fall needing to replace a half a million dollars’ worth of vehicles. Instead of fronting all that cash for new rigs, they asked us to handle it. That’s a big reason why people work with fleet management companies–they don’t want to put up a lot of capital on such rapidly depreciating assets.
What has it been like for you getting into this industry? What tips would you have for people just starting?
I’ve been in the industry for six years, and it’s been a crazy time! I was hired nine months before COVID, which in Oregon meant everything was shut down so it was very challenging to get in front of anyone. Next came the historic vehicle shortages and price increases, etc. Things are back to normal now, and I’m having a lot of success and a lot of fun. I’m fortunate to work for such an established, supportive company and I’ve become used to the long sales cycle in this industry.
My advice to people getting into this industry is not to be afraid to ask a lot of questions. I learned that nobody has all the answers. Even the folks at Ford have to look up Ford things! Since we work with all makes and models, it’s impossible to know everything. We rely heavily on our dealers and our vendors to get the right answers. I’m really lucky to work with people I can turn to for guidance- Duane, the whole San Antonio team, the fine folks at our corporate office in Houston, too.
So, ask questions. Network. Be a sponge for learning. Subscribe to Fleet Management Weekly, too!
What are some of your clients’ biggest concerns and challenges in the industry?
Many people are still shocked to learn how much vehicles cost these days, especially if they haven’t bought a vehicle in the last few years. That’s where I think LAI Fleet can help with factory ordering and sourcing from our dealer network. I can ensure that my clients are aware of when they’re eligible for specific fleet rebates, which can help reduce the price. Dealers call me all the time with special pricing- there’s a lot of value in that.
Another problem seems to be that upfitting lead times are pretty long. I’m lucky to have long-standing partnerships in Portland with guys who prioritize my work. But what I’m hearing from my colleagues across the country is that upfitting lead times are a significant issue, albeit one that we can help mitigate through our relationships.
Transitioning to EVs is a thing out here too – many folks want to but there are issues with infrastructure, reimbursement for electricity, etc. My husband’s company put a charger in at our house for his EV, but there aren’t many businesses willing to do that. At least, not without some serious golden handcuffs. There are challenges for leasing companies on the rebate side, too. Hopefully, that will get figured out soon.
