I have spent most of my career working with vehicles and operations, but in several different types of businesses.

I started in the automotive industry, working with vehicle engineering and manufacturing projects. Later, I moved into rental operations with Europcar. I managed rental operations in several cities, including airport locations, and was responsible for the fleet and the teams supporting the operation.

After that, I moved into a different type of fleet business with MEGA. We provided vehicles to Yandex Taxi drivers. We used our own application for the rental process, and the vehicles were operated as a distributed fleet rather than only through traditional rental locations.
My responsibilities included fleet operations, vehicle utilization, maintenance, driver operations and the processes around the fleet. We also used information from the vehicles and our systems to monitor the fleet and make operational decisions.

So I have experience with both traditional rental and a more technology-based, distributed fleet model.

More recently, in the U.S., I have been building Fleet-Go, which has given me experience with the U.S. automotive service market and vehicle logistics.

Now I would like to bring this experience into a larger mobility organization and continue developing in fleet operations.

There are three main reasons.

First, I like the car-sharing operating model. It is a very dynamic environment compared with traditional rental. Vehicles have shorter rental cycles, the fleet is distributed across different locations, and you constantly have to balance demand, availability, vehicle condition and positioning. I enjoy this kind of operational problem solving.

Second, I would like to return to a larger corporate environment. I had that experience with Europcar, and I appreciated the opportunity to work with established systems, technology and experienced teams. I think a company like Avis Budget Group gives me an opportunity to bring my experience and also learn from a larger operation.

And third, I'm thinking about the next stage of my career. After several years of building my own business, I would like to bring that experience into a larger organization, take on more complex fleet responsibilities and continue growing in fleet and mobility operations.

I try to be clear with people about what I expect and what they are responsible for.

I don't like micromanaging.

If someone understands the job and is doing it well, I give them room to work.

If there is a performance problem, I first try to understand the reason, make expectations clear and provide the support needed to improve.

But I also believe that people have to be accountable for their results.

I see the basic fleet management principles as very similar. In both cases, you need the right vehicles, in the right condition, available when customers need them.
The main difference, in my view, is the operating model.

First, car sharing is built around much shorter rental periods and a much higher number of rental cycles per vehicle. That increases the number of operational events during the day — vehicle access, check-in and check-out, condition checks, cleaning, issue identification and maintenance response.

Second, the fleet is distributed rather than concentrated around traditional rental locations. Customers can start and end rentals in different places, so you have to manage the geographic distribution of the fleet as well as the total number of vehicles.
That creates an additional planning problem. You need to understand demand by area, monitor where vehicles are actually located, identify areas where demand is likely to increase and reposition vehicles in advance.

I've already worked with some of these principles at MEGA, although I understand that Zipcar has its own systems and operating processes.

At MEGA, we provided vehicles to Yandex Taxi drivers.

We used our own application for the rental process, and the vehicles were distributed across different areas rather than operating only through traditional rental locations.
We used information from the vehicles and our systems to monitor their location, usage and available technical information.

That information was used for operational planning, vehicle utilization, maintenance and fleet control.

The technology and business model were different from Zipcar, but the principle was similar: you have a distributed fleet, you cannot physically manage every vehicle all the time, and you need reliable information to make operational decisions.

I would look at it as both a fleet management problem and a demand planning problem.
First, I would want to understand demand patterns by location and time.
Then I would compare that with where the vehicles are actually located.
If we consistently have too many vehicles in one area and not enough in another, that becomes a fleet positioning issue.
The goal would be to identify these patterns early enough to move vehicles before the shortage happens, rather than reacting after customers start seeing vehicles as unavailable.
I would use historical demand, current utilization, vehicle availability and location data to support those decisions.

I would first define what utilization means for that particular operation and make sure we are measuring it consistently.
Then I would look at utilization by location, time of day, day of week and vehicle type rather than looking only at one overall number.
For a distributed car-sharing fleet, a vehicle can be physically available but still be in the wrong location.
So I would look at utilization together with geographic distribution.
If one area has high demand and another has consistently low utilization, there may be an opportunity to reposition vehicles rather than simply increase the total fleet.

With short rentals, each vehicle can go through many more rental cycles during the day.
That means the number of operational events increases significantly.
You have more customer handoffs, more vehicle condition checks, more opportunities to identify damage or technical problems, and more frequent cleaning and preparation requirements.
It also means that a small operational problem can affect several customers if the vehicle is not returned to service quickly.
So the fleet operation has to be very responsive.

I would expect maintenance and vehicle condition management to be more time-sensitive when vehicles have multiple rental cycles during the day.
If an issue is identified during one rental, there may be another customer expecting the vehicle shortly afterwards.
So the process needs to be clear:
issue identified → information recorded → decision made → vehicle taken out of service if necessary → repair or service → inspection → vehicle returned to the fleet.
The faster and more accurately that process works, the less disruption it creates for customers.

With a high number of rental cycles, the condition-check process becomes very important.
You need a reliable way to identify new damage or technical issues and distinguish them from existing conditions.
Technology can help with this, but the process still needs clear standards and accountability.
The important thing is that information about the vehicle's condition should be available to the people who need it — operations, maintenance and customer support.

First, I would want to understand why.

Is it waiting for parts? Vendor delay? Approval? Transportation? A complicated repair?

Or is the repair already complete but the vehicle is waiting for another operational step?

Then I would look at the impact on the fleet.

Where is the vehicle located? Is that area already short of vehicles? Is demand high? Do we have another vehicle that can cover the demand?

The immediate objective is to restore availability, but I would also want to understand why the vehicle stayed out of service for so long.

I would not want to manage fleet positioning only by looking at where vehicles are right now.
I would look at patterns.
For example:

• demand by zone;
• demand by day and time;
• current utilization;
• reservations or expected demand;
• vehicle availability;
• historical shortages;
• historical low-utilization areas.

If the data shows that demand regularly moves from one area to another at a certain time, I would want to reposition vehicles before the demand arrives.
That is more efficient than waiting until customers cannot find available vehicles.

I see technology as a tool for making the operation more visible.
For example, if I know where vehicles are, how they are being used, their condition and the demand in different areas, I can make better decisions about maintenance and vehicle positioning.
But the technology does not replace the operational decision.
Someone still has to decide:
What should we do?
When should we do it?
Which vehicles should we move?
Which vehicles need maintenance?
Which problem should be handled first?

I see AI as another tool for working with fleet data.
For example, it could help identify recurring maintenance problems, unusual downtime, changes in utilization or patterns in demand that are difficult to see manually.
It could also help prioritize operational issues.
But I would use it to support decisions, not to replace operational judgment.

I don't look at maintenance only as a cost.

A vehicle that is being repaired is also a vehicle that is not available to the customer.
So I would look at repair cost, downtime, repair frequency and the effect on fleet availability together.

If the same vehicle repeatedly requires repairs, I would also want to understand whether we are dealing with an individual repair issue or a larger lifecycle problem.

I try to be clear with vendors about expectations, turnaround time and quality.

If a vendor misses an SLA once, I want to understand why.

If it becomes a pattern, I would look at the data and work with the vendor on corrective action.

I also don't think the lowest invoice is always the lowest cost.

If a vehicle sits for several extra days because of a vendor problem, the operational cost may be much higher than the difference in the repair price.

For a car-sharing business, I think fleet operations have a very direct connection to the customer.

If the vehicle is not available where the customer expects it, or if the vehicle has a problem, the customer experiences that immediately.

That means fleet availability, vehicle condition and the speed of resolving problems are all part of the customer experience.

First, I would try to understand what is causing the problem.

It could be training, unclear expectations, workload or something else.

I would discuss the issue with the employee, agree on what needs to improve and set a reasonable timeframe.

If the person improves, that's the result I want.

If the problem continues despite clear expectations and support, then I would take the appropriate management action.

Pressure is normal in fleet operations.

Vehicles go out of service, customers are waiting, vendors have delays and priorities can change.

I try to separate the immediate operational problem from the underlying cause.
First, stabilize the situation.

Then understand why it happened and whether something needs to change to prevent it from happening again.

One of the things I'm most proud of was growing a rental operation from a very small starting point.
We started with only a few vehicles at one location. Over time, we grew to more than 100 vehicles across five cities and opened operations at three international airports.
The difficult part was not simply adding vehicles. We had to develop the people and processes around the fleet as the operation grew.
That experience taught me that the operating processes have to grow with the fleet.

At MEGA, we managed more than 450 vehicles across six regions.
We were involved in the full vehicle lifecycle, from acquisition and utilization to maintenance, repairs and resale.
The important part was coordinating those areas rather than treating them as separate functions.
For example, reducing a repair cost does not necessarily improve the operation if the vehicle then spends more time out of service.
That experience made me very conscious of the connection between operational decisions and the overall economics of the fleet.

Building Fleet-Go has been a valuable experience for me.

As a founder, I had to deal with many different parts of the business, including operations, technology, customers and partnerships.

At the same time, I've realized that I'm now interested in bringing that experience into a larger organization where I can focus more directly on fleet operations and continue developing in the mobility industry.

I've had to adapt quite a few times during my career.

I've worked in automotive engineering, rental operations, fleet management and my own business. I've also worked in different countries and operating environments.

I don't expect a new company to work the same way as my previous companies.

When I join a new operation, I first want to understand how it works, what the standards are and what the team is dealing with.

Then I can use my previous experience where it makes sense.

During the first few months, my main goal would be to understand the operation.
I would want to learn the team, the fleet, the systems, the vendors, the main KPIs and the current problems.
Then I would look for a few areas where we can make practical improvements — perhaps vehicle availability, repair turnaround, fleet positioning, vendor performance or workflow.
I would rather make a few useful improvements that we can measure than come in with a long list of changes before I understand the operation.

First 30 days
Understand:

• team;
• fleet;
• locations;
• systems;
• vendors;
• KPIs;
• current problems.

30–60 days
Look for patterns:

• where vehicles spend time;
• where demand is highest;
• where vehicles are underutilized;
• repair bottlenecks;
• vendor delays;
• recurring problems;
• fleet positioning issues.

60–90 days
Start working on a small number of measurable improvements.
The principle is:
First understand the operation. Then change it.

I value having clear responsibility and knowing what I am expected to deliver.

I like operational work where you can see the result of what you do.

And I value a good team. People don't have to agree on everything, but they need to communicate directly, solve problems and take responsibility for their part of the operation.

I want to continue working in fleet and mobility operations.

At this point in my career, I'm interested in bringing the experience I've built over the years into a larger organization.

I would like to continue learning, take on more responsibility over time and become someone the organization can rely on to manage a complex operation.

Sometimes I can spend too much time trying to understand the details of a problem.

That can be useful when you need to find the real cause, but in operations you also have to make a decision and move forward.

I've become better at separating the two: first deal with the immediate operational problem, and then spend the time needed to understand the deeper cause.

When I joined MEGA, the company was growing quickly and the fleet was becoming more difficult to manage. Different parts of the operation were using different processes, and it was becoming difficult to get a clear picture of utilization, maintenance and vehicle status.
Problem
The problem was not simply the number of vehicles. The bigger problem was that we did not have one consistent way to control the fleet and measure performance.
What I did
I worked on centralizing the fleet management process.
We introduced common operating procedures and common performance indicators. We also started using real-time information from the fleet and our systems to understand where vehicles were, how they were being used and what needed attention.
I wanted the management team to be able to look at the same information and make decisions based on the actual situation rather than individual assumptions.
Result
It gave us much better visibility of the fleet and made the operation easier to control as the company grew.

Situation
When I was managing the regional rental operation at Europcar, we had to support growing demand while operating with a relatively small fleet.
The operation started with only a few vehicles at one location and eventually grew to more than 100 vehicles across five cities.
Problem
The challenge was to have enough vehicles available for customers without simply adding vehicles everywhere. We had to understand where demand was coming from and how vehicles should be distributed.
What I did
I looked at demand by location and worked on moving vehicles between locations when necessary.
I also focused on making the operation scalable — staffing, vehicle preparation, maintenance and processes had to develop together with the fleet.
We opened operations at three international airports, so location and availability became especially important.
Result
The regional operation grew from a very small operation into a fleet of more than 100 vehicles across five cities.

Situation
I had situations where an employee was not meeting the expected level of performance.
Problem
The first thing I tried to understand was whether the problem was capability, lack of training, unclear expectations or simply lack of accountability.
What I did
I discussed the specific problem with the employee rather than making general comments.
I explained what I expected, what was not working and what needed to change.
If the person needed training or support, I provided that. Then I followed up and looked at the actual results.
If the performance improved, the problem was solved.
If it did not improve despite clear expectations and support, then I had to take the appropriate management action.
Result
My approach is to give people a fair opportunity to improve, but I also believe that accountability is important.

Situation
Airport rental operations can become very demanding when several things happen at the same time — high customer demand, vehicle returns, vehicle preparation and limited fleet availability.
Problem
You cannot simply tell customers that there are no vehicles because the operation was not prepared.
What I did
I tried to separate urgent issues from issues that could wait.
First, I focused on vehicles that could immediately affect customer availability.
Then I coordinated the team around vehicle preparation, returns and maintenance issues.
I also kept communication between the different parts of the operation clear, because during a busy period small communication problems can create much bigger delays.
Result
We were able to keep the operation moving during periods of high demand without losing control of the basic processes.

Situation
In fleet operations, we sometimes depended on external suppliers for maintenance or other vehicle-related services.
Problem
The problem was not always the price. A vehicle sitting at a supplier for several extra days could create a much larger operational cost than the difference between two repair invoices.
What I did
I looked at the whole process — when the vehicle arrived, what was delaying the repair, whether parts were available, how quickly the work was completed and when the vehicle actually returned to operation.
I discussed the problem with the supplier and focused on measurable expectations rather than just asking them to “work faster.”
Result
This approach helped us identify where the actual bottleneck was and made vendor discussions much more productive.

Situation
In rental operations, there is always a balance between keeping costs under control and having enough vehicles available for customers.
Problem
If you reduce the fleet too much, availability suffers.
If you keep too many vehicles, utilization falls and the cost of the fleet increases.
What I did
I looked at the demand and utilization by location rather than treating the fleet as one number.
The goal was to have the right number of vehicles in the right place.
I also paid attention to maintenance and vehicle downtime because an expensive vehicle that is unavailable does not help the customer or the business.
Result
The operation could support customer demand while keeping the fleet under operational control.

Situation
For example, a vehicle may need maintenance, but at the same time demand is high and the business needs the vehicle.
Problem
You cannot simply choose the easiest option.
Putting a vehicle into service when it needs repair can create a bigger problem later. But keeping every vehicle out of service for every minor issue can also hurt availability.
What I did
I tried to evaluate the operational risk.
I looked at the vehicle condition, the severity of the issue, customer impact, availability of other vehicles and how quickly the problem could be resolved.
Then I made the decision based on risk and business impact rather than simply choosing the cheapest or fastest option.
Result
The objective was always to protect the operation without compromising safety or vehicle standards.

One thing I learned from building my own business is that it is very easy to spend too much time trying to solve several problems at the same time.
Early on, I sometimes wanted to improve the product, operations, partnerships and customer acquisition simultaneously.
I learned that it is more effective to identify the most important operational bottleneck, solve that first, measure the result and then move to the next problem.
That changed the way I prioritize.
Today, when I see several problems, I ask which one has the biggest impact on the operation and which one needs to be solved first.

The repair itself may not be the biggest problem. Sometimes the delay is caused by diagnosis, parts, vendor scheduling, authorization, transportation or simply lack of follow-up.
My approach is to break the process into steps.
First, identify why the vehicle is unavailable.
Then identify who owns the next action and what the expected completion time is.
If the vehicle is waiting for parts, I want to know when the parts are expected.
If the repair is complete, I want to know when the vehicle will actually return to operation.
That distinction is important because “repair complete” and “vehicle available to the customer” are not always the same thing.

First, I would want to understand why.
There is a big difference between losing vehicles because of maintenance, accident damage, transportation problems, demand changes or a temporary operational issue.
Then I would look at the customer impact by location.
I would prioritize the areas with the highest expected demand and the biggest availability gap.
I would also look at whether vehicles could be repositioned from lower-demand areas.
At the same time, I would identify the expected return-to-service time for vehicles that are currently unavailable.
The important thing for me would be to manage the immediate problem while also finding the reason for the shortage, because otherwise the same problem may happen again.

First, I would make sure we are talking about a real pattern and not one isolated incident.
I would look at the data — how many jobs, how many were late, average turnaround time and the reasons for the delays.
Then I would discuss the issue with the vendor and agree on specific expectations and corrective actions.
If the problem continued, I would escalate it according to the contract and company process.
I would also look at alternatives if the vendor was creating a significant operational problem.
For me, the objective is not to have a difficult conversation with the vendor.
The objective is to get the vehicles back into operation reliably.

Question 1
What are the biggest challenges the fleet team is dealing with right now?

Question 2
What would you expect the person in this role to accomplish during the first six months?

Question 3
How does the fleet team work with the operations team when a vehicle becomes unavailable?

Question 4
How do you currently approach fleet positioning when demand changes between different areas?