From fleet manager to director

Name Charlie Shiels

Current role Executive director of central operations for DPD Group UK

First fleet management role Procurement assistant, National Carrier Contract Services (became Exel Logistics)

Positions since then Ground transport manager for British Airways, fleet engineer for Argos, general manager  transport for Parceline (now DPD Group), to general manager risk and transport, to director of risk and  transport, director of hubs, linehaul, risk and transport

Charlie Shiels’s first fleet role was in 1986, when he became procurement assistant for National Carrier Contract Services.

Now, as executive director of central operations for DPD Group UK, he has around 2,000 people working with him, and budgets of about £200 million.

“I never really moved away from fleet management,” says Shiels. “I just moved up and took on additional areas of responsibility.”

He adds: “Fleet is rarely enough to get you a main board role nowadays and you need to diversify or branch out if you want to break through the ‘fleet glass ceiling’."

Shiels did a part-time degree in business and finance  and recommends that fleet managers wishing to progress should gain qualifications in specific areas, for example accountancy.

“Supplier management is an important and under- appreciated skill set,” he says. “I see lots of situations where failure or weakness in this area causes issues.

“Good negotiation skills also seem to be hard to find, and are important in many work situations.

“However, the most important factors in succeeding in a work location will be your personal skills.

“I meet many senior managers and aspiring senior managers and they all tend to be cut from similar cloth: they work very hard, they make things happen and do what they say they are going to do.”

From fleet manager to consultant

Name Paul Holmes

Current role Managing director, Fleet Managers Friend

First fleet management role Fleet manager, British Gas

Positions since then  Commercial manager at AA Workshop Services, AA head of business developments, head of AA Risk Management Solutions, fleet director at AA DriveTech, strategic account director risk at FMG

Former Fleet News fleet manager of the year Paul Holmes had more than 30 years' industry experience when he launched his own  fleet management consultancy business last year.

When he won the honour in 1999, Holmes was fleet manager from British Gas, a position he held from 1997 to 2002 and which saw him run a fleet of 14,000-15,000 cars and light commercial vehicles.

As fleet manager, he played a key due diligence role during the £1.1 billion acquisition of  The AA and, after promotion  to a sales and business  development role, he held  a variety of positions in AA Group, culminating in fleet director of AA DriveTech  until 2012.

That year, Holmes was recruited by FMG as its  strategic account director to create a new business division, but left last year when he set up Fleet Managers Friend.

So what skills acquired while Holmes was a fleet manager have been the most important to him since leaving that role?

“The application of pragmatic solutions, understanding the market I am now selling into and gaining an understanding of what is important to a fleet manager,” says Holmes.

He advises fleet managers looking to move into a different type of role to be proud of their achievements. They should also be able to demonstrate that they can work well under  pressure, that they are  organised and that they deliver results, by either meeting or beating budgets.