By Tod Trousdell, Fleet Marketing Consultant
If you ask someone who has attended more than a dozen AFLA Conferences, the 2025 version of fleet’s de facto Family Reunion had many of the trappings of previous AFLA conferences:
Squeals of delight at seeing longtime friends and industry associates – in fact, I characterized it as such in my wrap up of last year’s conference. There were lots of those from the moment attendees walked into the airy atrium at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort in Florida, a rare beachside location for this year’s event. The conference saw a record attendance of 648, including more than 200 new (and eager) first-time attendees.
Early discussions included lots of uncertainty around the challenges of the moment – with increasing concerns over spiraling costs and how to contain them. Further discussions expanded on the best ways to keep drivers safe and, of course, the boogeyman of the moment – impending tariffs and what they mean for fleet.
But unlike the past few conferences, which worked hard to shake off the vestiges of Covid, this year’s affair also had an air of positivity and hope that seemed harder to come by in the last few versions. It’s a feeling that many first-time attendees I spoke with felt within minutes of stepping on property, with many attendees coming in early over the weekend to enjoy the island paradise before the conference officially kicked off on Monday.
Katie Mahlawat
Among those feeling that positivity was Katie Mahlawat, CEO of MapUp, whose company is focused on relieving the tolling burden for fleet and rental companies with a real-time, GPS-based billing solution. MapUp was one of the many technology providers attending the conference for the first time, something that even a decade ago might have seemed out of place at a fleet conference.
“I was really struck by the warmth of this community,” said Mahlawat. She was especially touched by the offers of help she received from members of Women in Fleet Management (WIFM). “As a first time attendee it was inspiring to connect with so many industry leaders equally committed to making fleet operations more efficient and customer experiences better.”
Craig Markham
Echoing Mahlawat’s sentiment was first time attendee Craig Markham, Commercial Vehicle Key Account Director for Ex-Guard Industries, a front-end protection system for work vehicles. He considered the conference “an exceptionally positive experience…I was just really impressed by the attendees’ professionalism – and encouraged by AFLA’s strong emphasis on driver safety and operational efficiency – which directly aligns with the core benefits of our front-end protection systems.”
Suresh Rajapakse
Despite the fact that this year’s conference had a lush tropical locale, a fresh look and feel, and a mountain of new attendees, there was still much about this year’s AFLA that felt like previous iterations – not a bad thing. That included the usual slate of informative keynotes and motivational speakers, and lots of cheerleading by AFLA officers including incoming President Suresh Rajapakse of Wheels, who was pressed in to serve as emcee at the last minute after sitting President Karyna Zarate was unable to attend after suffering an injury days prior to the event. We wish Karyna a speedy recovery.
“This year’s AFLA Annual Conference was an incredible reminder of the power of connection and community in our industry,” said Rajapakse. “I was especially proud to celebrate our Wheels clients being honored with Fleet Manager of the Year and Fleet Visionary awards, as well as our colleagues recognized in the Hall of Fame and with the President’s Award. These achievements reflect the passion and customer-first culture that drive both Wheels and our industry forward. I am honored to serve as AFLA’s President and excited to continue building on this momentum with our members.”
And while we’re on the subject, here are the recipients of honors and awards presented at the 2025 AFLA Conference:
AFLA Fleet Hall of Fame Inductees
- Laura Jozwiak, Strategic Advisor, Wheels
- Oleg Cytowicz, OEM Fleet Account Manager
- Lisa Kneggs, Fleet Manager, Farmer Brothers
President’s Award Winners
- Gary Bruce, Associate Vice President, Strategic Sales at Wheels Leasing Canada
- Lori Olson, Signature Account Advisor at Geotab
- Mary Saunders, Fleet Operations Manager at LAI Fleet
- Corey Woinarowicz, Compliance Account Executive at Fleetworthy
Fleet Visionary of the Year
- Taylor Murphy, Fleet Manager at Hilti North America
Fleet Manager of the Year
- Joseph Lukacs, Global Director of Fleet Operations at The Sherwin-Williams Company
While the tone of this year’s conference was predominantly lighthearted, it was evident from conversations I had with attendees that the realities facing fleets are decidedly not. If anything, as previously noted, the overriding theme on people’s mind centered around nagging uncertainty, especially over tariffs, which have yet to fully flesh out after nearly 6 months of fits and starts.
Beyond that, many of the fleet managers I spoke with seemed to be facing a similar basket of challenges including the aforementioned spiraling costs, safety-related issues of all kinds, technology integration, leveraging data and – what is quickly becoming a top challenge for many fleets – vehicle service and maintenance costs and logistics.
For most of the fleet managers I spoke to, the conference provided the kind of real world input to help them run better, smarter fleets.
“To be successful as a fleet manager, it’s essential to gain internal support through strong communication, strategic alignment, and cultivating allies within your organization,” said Meghan Murray, Fleet Manager at Teva Pharmaceuticals, who sat on one of AFLA’s daily fleet expert panels. “Building relationships with mentors, sponsors, and peers continues to be one of the most valuable parts of my AFLA experience and this year’s conference was no different.”
Matt Dyer
Merchants Fleet, led by newly appointed president and CEO Matt Dyer, presented a strong front at both the conference and their well-attended partner event, which was held a week after the conference. In addition, Mike Albert Fleet Solutions, Union Leasing and Emkay Fleet Management also had formidable contingencies at the conference.
While this year’s AFLA certainly had an air of newness given the large number of first time attendees, there was no getting away from the fact that for most conference-goers AFLA is celebrated as the one time they see all of their fleet friends in one place.
Steve Bender, President of Fleet Street Remarketing, choked up as he explained how the AFLA community had come to his family’s aid last year after his son Sean was struck by a boat in the Florida Keys. Even his biggest competitors chipped in to a fund established by the fleet community.
Steve Bender
“There’s no doubt that fleet is a business,” said Bender, who led AFLA as President two years ago. “But the real beauty of this industry is that the members are like family so no matter what technology brings to the table or what advancements AI delivers, what really matters is the human connection.” This was something Bender and his team contributed to with a fun-filled, pirate themed late night party to celebrate the culmination of a year-long marketing campaign highlighting his prowess as both a treasure hunter and remarketer.
Henry Chedraoui knows something about the importance of relationships in fleet. The popular VP of veteran owned Patriot Fleet Solutions has been attending AFLA for so long he has had a hard time keeping track. He prizes the event for its distilled opportunity to meet with fleet’s elite decision makers, many of whom responded positively to Patriot’s message.
Henry Chedraoui
“AFLA is by far the premiere event if you really want to spend quality time with the actual decision makers,” said Chedraoui, a 30-year veteran of the fleet industry who also helped build the LineX brand into a fleet powerhouse. Fleets looking for reliable, timely upfitting have faced incredible challenges in the past few years, so Patriot’s ability to operate as a one stop shop with over 300 dealer partners means we can execute any order – and deliver it faster than our competition – because our network is so efficient and widespread.”
As in years past, the area outside AFLA’s lone meeting hall was packed with 10-12 tables reserved for the conference’s bigger sponsors, which noticeably contained fewer EV related services. That said, EVs still had their share of advocates, including Inspiration Mobility CEO Josh Green, whose table sponsored the always popular “Headshot Lounge” where attendees could quickly and easily grab a new image of themselves.
Josh Green
“For me, AFLA 2025 underscored that, despite the doom and gloom from many pundits about EVs, fleet electrification continues to accelerate, with more and more success stories from those that got it right,” said Green. “What makes this conference so valuable is the way it brings together fleet leaders, OEMs, service providers, and innovators to share ideas and build the partnerships that make progress possible. These connections are what turn strategy into action, and AFLA continues to play a vital role in aligning the industry around the opportunities ahead and identifying where new solutions and business models are required to thrive.”
This year’s conference, aptly named “Seas of Knowledge” – given the ocean’s prominence from every vantage point – was widely praised by attendees I spoke with if for no other reason than activities were all held within a few hundred feet of each other. This is in stark contrast to last year’s event when many attendees had to be bused in from hotels spread out over miles. This year’s affair, which included a dance party held on the beach one evening and a nearly formal President’s Award Dinner on another, saw most attendees partying well into the night. Despite this, most people still showed up bright and early for breakfast at 7:30 am.
Brett Ashley Bridges
Brett Ashley Bridges, Director of Communications & Client Services at BBL Fleet and incoming AFLA Vice President, put a bow on this year’s proceedings while pointing out that the AFLA board is already hard at work figuring out how to leverage the energy around this year’s event, which she said was “unmatched.”
“As the new AFLA Vice President, I’ll have the pleasure of collaborating with the new Conference Task Force to plan the 2026 event in Las Vegas. Over the past few years, we keep breaking the record for attendance, and I hope to continue that trend. More importantly, I’m eager to build on the infectious enthusiasm shared amongst the attendees and deliver more dynamic sessions and voices to the stage.”
About the author
Tod Trousdell is a 35-year marketing veteran and has worked with a variety of fleet customers on initiatives like brand strategy, insights and content development, research and more. He can be reached at tod@robertstrousdell.com.
This article is excerpted from Fleet Management Weekly and should be referenced as such