Fleetcare: Welcome to Fleetcare, can you start off by telling us a bit about yourself?
Jonathon: I actually started my career as an accountant for nine years which gave me a strong platform to excel in the finance and fleet industry. But my calling was more aligned to sales roles so I moved into a sales leadership position at ORIX 13 years ago and have been in the fleet industry ever since. My most recent role was six years heading up the fleet department at Volkswagen Group Australia.
I’m happily married for 15 years with 3 kids aged 13, 11 and 7. I love to water ski socially and competitively throughout Australia.
Fleetcare: You’re General Manager of Sales – what does that mean exactly?
Jonathon: My main priority is to provide a strategic focus while meeting the business sales objectives of Fleetcare.
From an operational perspective it’s important for me to have a strong sales team that is engaged, capable and has every opportunity to succeed. Lead and support that team by providing a road map and vision for success. And support the executive team to focus on the strategic growth goals of Fleetcare.
Fleetcare: What do you see as the biggest future trends in fleet management?
Jonathon: There are two trends that I see will shape the future of fleet management. 1) The evolving change to the market with the introduction of electric vehicles, which is moving quicker than we could all imagine. 2) The era of convenience and subscription. There is a willingness to pay a flat fee for the use of motor vehicles coupled with the declining desire to own vehicles. Customers are looking for suppliers to take away the friction at every touch point.
Business is rapidly changing and service providers are now required to be agile and adapt quickly to these future trends by providing a bespoke mobility service.
Fleetcare: You’ve worked on both the fleet management and manufacturer side of the industry. Where do you see the biggest opportunities will be for FMOs and manufacturers to work together in the future?
Jonathon: Traditionally, manufacturers have left the dealers to represent their brand. Over recent times there has been an increase in desire from manufacturers to deal directly and more collaboratively with the FMO and its clients. The benefit of this is that FMO’s are armed with more knowledge of changes to vehicles and industry trends and, in some cases are able to negotiate greater discounts from the manufacturer’s headquarters. This will provide even more value to our clients as all parties look to seek out a true mobility solution which ultimately leads to a more productive fleet.
Fleetcare: What’s something that still surprises you about the industry?
Jonathon: I’m often surprised at Australian business’ reliance on traditional financing models such as secured loans or outright purchase of their fleet. Internationally, there is a much stronger push to leasing options that reduce residual risk and help to smooth cash flow. I expect that this will start to change in coming years as we move to Mobility as a Service (MaaS) fleet management models.
I’m also surprised to still see reluctance in the adoption of telematics systems to help manage and optimise a fleet. These days, telematics is much more than tracking ‘dots on a map’. It has the power to offer insight to true fleet optimisation including utilisation, driver behaviour and risk mitigation.
