Mark Boada Named Senior Editor at Fleet Management Weekly
Fleet Management Weekly is pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2017, Mark Boada will join its editorial team as Senior Editor.
Mark entered the fleet business with the CEI Group, Inc., where he worked in the marketing department for more than 11 years as the company’s chief writer, editor and public relations representative.
“Mark has exceptional writing and editorial skills, and as we expand our reach in the coming years we are confident that Mark’s talents will be an enormous asset,” said Janice Sutton, Editor in Chief. "As an added benefit to clients, Mark will be available to assist with their ad hoc writing projects."
Worried Auto Industry Braces for Change Under Trump
First the Obama administration bailed out much of the American auto industry, pulling it out of a tailspin. Then it reshaped the business, with regulations and policies intended to increase fuel economy, improve safety and add jobs.
Now, under President-elect Donald J. Trump, the industry is bracing for another wholesale makeover. Perhaps no industry could be affected in more ways by the new administration than the auto business.
That became all the more apparent this week, with Mr. Trump’s selection of Scott Pruitt — the Oklahoma attorney general who is a climate-change skeptic and close ally of the oil and gas industry — to run the Environmental Protection Agency.
Daimler Slowly Integrating Fleet Management Acquisition
Daimler AG disclosed it will take another year to complete the integration of Athlon Car Lease International, which it acquired earlier this year, making the German automaker one of the largest managers of vehicle fleets Europe.
The company put up $1.2 billion to acquire Athlon, a leader in fleet management company across Europe, so Daimler Financial Services can expand the company’s “business mobility” services with Daimler Fleet Management.
“The importance of business mobility continues to grow. With the acquisition of Athlon, we are strengthening our competitive position in business mobility. Both Daimler Fleet Management and Athlon have a strong heritage and are successful in the market,” stated Bodo Uebber, Board of Management member of Daimler AG responsible for Finance and Controlling and Financial Services.
“With a combined portfolio exceeding 350,000 vehicles we will be an important player in the European fleet business. With Athlon, we will enhance our mobility solutions for companies,” stated Klaus Entenmann, chairman of Daimler Financial Services AG.
A Rocket Scientist Says His Gadget Could End Distracted Driving. Will Smartphone Companies go Along?
An engineer has invented a device that he believes could eliminate distracted driving.
He also says at least one mobile phone provider appears close to rolling out the gadget to its users and that another provider has shown an interest in the technology.
But, then again, Scott Tibbitts and his colleagues at a company called Katasi have been trying to persuade cellphone providers, automakers and the federal government to deploy his gadget for half a decade now.
A Call to Action: Planning Your Customer-Centric Sales & Marketing Strategy, Part II
By Ed Pierce, Fleet Industry Marketer
Last month, we left off mid-stream in describing the planning of a customer-centric sales AND marketing strategy. Let’s finish up:
Know Thy Customer
With advances in customer relationship management tools that now incorporate every milestone in the buying cycle all the way back to a prospect’s first website visit along with instant, segmented digital surveying capability, companies can obtain more information about buyers and buying habits than ever before.
Combined with the availability of a broad range of more timely sales reports, the “opportunities” picture has never been clearer.
