By Janice Sutton, Editor-in-Chief, Fleet Management Weekly
March 20, 2024
I am deeply saddened to announce that Fleet Management Weekly Senior Editor Michael G. Sheldrick passed away suddenly on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Foster City, California. Mike was my life partner for more than 17 years and an invaluable contributor to FMW’s success. He was an all-around great guy and possessed one of the keenest intellects of anyone I have ever known.
Mike was born in Syracuse, New York but grew up in Paterson, New Jersey. He graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering. Soon after, he joined publisher McGraw-Hill as a journalist for Chemical Engineering magazine. McGraw-Hill then moved Mike to its flagship publication, Business Week, where he held the posts of Detroit Bureau Chief and Houston Bureau Chief. Later, he was managing editor for Automotive Electronics Journal and executive editor of Wards Automotive International.
Kevin Dennehy, editor of Location Business News and a longtime friend and colleague, said this about him: “Mike was a sought-after speaker at industry conferences and trade shows. He was a solid writer and visionary. In 1990, he authored Driving While Automated for Scientific American, written many years before autonomous car systems were produced.
“A pioneer in the digital map and telematics industries, he worked at Etak as director of automotive business development and held positions at DeCarta, C.J. Driscoll & Associates, and other telematics companies. He was a founding member of the Washington, D.C.-based Intelligent Transportation Society of America. In 1992, as part of an industry fellowship with IVHS America (later ITS America), he co-authored the Strategic Plan for Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems.
“The strategic plan was a blueprint that led to the development of intelligent transportation technologies such as telematics, vehicle navigation, maps, vehicle-to-everything communications (V2X), electronic tolling, connected and autonomous vehicles, and many other technologies used by millions today.”
Clem Driscoll said, “I knew Mike for about 25 years. He was one of the nicest, warmest people I have ever known and had many skills, including sales, reporting, and writing. He helped me with a research study several years ago and did an excellent job, as he did with everything. He will be missed.”
Mike is survived by his daughter Michelle Torp, son-in-law Paul Torp, grandson Brandon Torp of Richmond, Texas; son Kenneth Sheldrick of Foster City, California, and brother Dennis Sheldrick of Corvallis, Oregon.
A celebration of Mike’s life will be held later this spring.
