Women Fleet Managers Expand Data-Led Leadership and Industry Mentorship

Women’s growing presence in fleet leadership is changing how more professionals enter the field and build careers in it. Their work spans commercial fleets, municipal and utility operations, vehicle electrification, telematics and team management. The shift also has practical support behind it: professional networks, mentoring and training programs are giving fleet professionals clearer ways to develop expertise and connect with senior leaders.

Women accounted for 16.8% of fleet managers tracked in 2021, up from 14.3% a decade earlier, according to figures cited in Geotab industry event coverage. That measure is higher than the roughly 8.9% of all transportation and material moving occupations reported for women by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures cover different occupational groups, but together they show that fleet management has a different gender mix from transportation roles centered on driving and material handling.

The business case often cited alongside this shift comes from McKinsey & Company: companies in the top quartile for gender diversity were 25% more likely to experience above-average profitability. That finding covers diverse leadership teams across industries; it isn’t a fleet-specific performance measure. For fleet operators, the more immediate questions concern how leaders use data, manage teams and prepare staff for changes in vehicles and systems.

Leaders connect data with operational decisions

Lori Olson, Geotab’s Signature Advisor for Data Driven Decision Making, works at the point where fleet data meets business planning. Her focus is helping operators turn telematics information into decisions they can explain to senior leaders with a documented business case. That skill matters when fleet teams need to show why a proposed change fits operational needs and how they will evaluate it.

Olson also chairs the Women in Fleet Management task force through the Automotive Fleet Leasing Association, or AFLA. Under her leadership, the group has taken programming beyond AFLA events, with sessions at NTEA Work Truck Week and the NAFA Institute & Expo. Olson was elected AFLA board secretary in 2026. She has described mentorship as recognizing a person’s potential before they see it themselves, a theme that connects her industry work to the group’s career support.

Erin Gilchrist brings another kind of operational experience to the conversation. As vice president of Fleet Evangelism at IntelliShift, she draws on her time managing Safelite’s national commercial vehicle fleet. Her podcast, “The Straight Talk on Fleet,” puts fleet managers in conversation about day-to-day obstacles and practical responses. Its emphasis on candid operational discussion gives listeners a way to compare challenges without relying only on polished case studies.

Other women profiled in the source hold roles across different parts of the vehicle sector. Karen Bellairs is CCO and managing director at Halfords, where she is recognized for garage operations leadership. Jane Pocock is CEO for the UK and Ireland at Copart, with a regional market leadership role. Catherine Faiers, COO at Auto Trader, received the Automotive 30% Club’s Inspiring Automotive Woman of the Year award in 2025.

Building credibility and moving past barriers

Women in fleet leadership have described entering meetings or training sessions as the only woman in the room. That experience can bring added pressure to make expertise visible. The strategies they cite are concrete: develop deep knowledge in an area such as analytics or safety, earn relevant credentials, build relationships inside and outside the company, and support recommendations with evidence.

Being proactive about mentorship and sponsorship also matters. Mentors can offer advice and help someone weigh career choices; sponsors can advocate for that person when senior leaders are considering assignments or advancement. The source describes both as useful, with executive sponsorship providing a more direct form of senior-level support than informal guidance alone.

For fleet teams, these approaches have a practical application beyond career development. Leaders who can explain an operational recommendation with data, build trust across departments and communicate clearly are better positioned to bring others into decisions. That combination is especially relevant when a change affects drivers, maintenance staff, facilities teams and finance colleagues at the same time.

Leadership practices with a people and performance focus

Faiers has spoken about treating a career as an ongoing adventure instead of following a fixed plan. Her approach emphasizes continued learning and enthusiasm for the work. She also sponsors Auto Trader’s ethnicity network and mentors women navigating overlapping barriers in the industry.

Across the examples in the source, several leadership practices recur: building genuine working relationships, using data alongside experience, inviting differing views, continuing to learn and treating setbacks as opportunities to improve. These practices describe an approach to managing teams, rather than a claim that one style suits every fleet or produces a guaranteed result.

Research from the NAFA Fleet Management Association links collaborative leadership with higher employee satisfaction and lower turnover. In practice, the approach described by women fleet leaders includes regular feedback and open communication. Those habits give managers a way to hear about operational problems early and understand how decisions are affecting the people who carry them out.

Technology adoption calls for planning and explanation

Fleet technology can produce a business case only when teams connect system capabilities to operating needs. Women in fleet leadership are often described as making that connection for proposed technology purchases: setting out the expected return, documenting the reasoning and securing executive support. The point is not simply to add a tool, but to explain how it fits the fleet’s work.

Electric vehicle planning

Women fleet leaders at companies including Amazon and FedEx are described as leading electric vehicle adoption efforts. Their planning covers total ownership costs, charging infrastructure and route requirements as fleets shift from diesel vehicles to electric powertrains.

Vehicle acquisition is only one part of that work. Charging plans require coordination with facilities teams; maintenance staff need training on high-voltage systems; and route plans must account for battery range while meeting delivery schedules. These dependencies make the transition an operational project across departments, as well as a vehicle decision.

Telematics and driver coaching

Telematics systems can show driver behavior, fuel use and vehicle health. The information gives managers a basis for identifying patterns and deciding where coaching may help. But how managers present and use the data matters: workers may interpret monitoring as surveillance if the purpose and process aren’t clear.

The leaders described in the source focus on translating data into coaching that supports better performance without putting drivers on the defensive. That requires explaining what is being measured, connecting the information to practical goals and keeping communication open as teams respond to the results.

Sustainability work tied to operating results

Fleet sustainability efforts include tracking carbon emissions, assessing alternative fuels, coaching drivers on efficient habits and reducing idle time. The women leading these programs are described as presenting environmental and financial results together. That framing makes it easier to show how a project relates to fleet operations while building a case for continuing the work.

Networks and career routes

AFLA’s Women in Fleet Management task force offers skill development, networking and career advancement resources shaped for fleet professionals. Its sessions at AFLA events, NTEA Work Truck Week and the NAFA Institute & Expo broaden access for people who may not attend AFLA’s own conference. The task force is chaired by Olson.

Women in Trucking supports women across the wider transportation industry through research, advocacy and education. NAFA and company-run leadership programs provide other routes to professional development. Common forms of support include one-on-one coaching, peer groups, speaking opportunities and access to senior sponsors.

There isn’t one standard path into fleet management. Professionals may start in fleet coordination, safety, customer service, maintenance coordination, transportation planning, driving or vehicle repair, then move into operations management or strategic fleet oversight. Experience in technician and driver roles can build practical knowledge that later supports decisions about equipment, staffing and processes. Profiles of women in diesel mechanics and women in trucking describe two potential routes into that wider field.

Newer areas of work include autonomous vehicle program management, supply chain optimization, environmental planning and fleet electrification strategy. Because these fields are still developing, professionals may enter them through different combinations of operational, technical and management experience.

Credentials can help build that expertise. The source identifies NAFA’s Certified Automotive Fleet Manager program, fleet safety credentials, telematics training and business analytics coursework as options. Some professionals add an MBA or a specialized logistics credential to strengthen business knowledge alongside operating experience. The right combination depends on the roles a fleet professional wants to pursue.

The path into fleet leadership can be indirect, but professional networks make it more visible. WIFM, Women in Trucking and employer-led programs offer places to learn, build relationships and find support. As fleet operations take on new vehicles and systems, those connections can help teams develop the skills they need and give more professionals a route into leadership.