This COO found success after just six years in the industry

A good fit for fleet

Hudson began her career in public accounting after earning a degree in accounting and computer programming. Each job she’s held since has had a healthy mix of accounting and programming, she said. For the bulk of her professional career, she worked for 24 years at a lab testing company, primarily in IT and operations roles.

During this time, Hudson had no interest in, and only a basic awareness of, the fleet industry. Her eyes were opened to the trucking world and all its opportunities when a former coworker persuaded her to apply for a job at Mike Albert Fleet Solutions. He explained that moving from her current industry to fleets would be “quite a deviation,” but that he wished he found Mike Albert sooner, and it was “the greatest place he’d ever found.”

 Years later, Hudson is still grateful for that advice.

“The combination of my accounting and my IT background and just a lot of my operational experience … I felt like that was a good fit here, and it has worked out very well,” Hudson said.

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A talent for leadership

Hudson’s role as the only woman in C-suite leadership at Mike Albert is quite apparent after a quick glance at Mike Albert’s leadership webpage. But Hudson said that isn’t exactly normal for the company. There have been several women in executive roles at Mike Albert throughout the decades. Despite being the only woman in the C-suite currently, Hudson isn't focused on it.

“I haven't felt that they treat me any differently at all,” she said. “[I’m] very fortunate.”

When asked how she feels about being the only woman in the room, Hudson said, “In the meetings, I don't really think about it. I'm proud to have achieved a chief operating officer title, period. That gives me great, great pride.”

While equal representation in the C-suite isn’t something one might immediately think of when looking at the company’s C-suite leadership, one might feel differently after glancing at Mike Albert’s company-wide photo. Women make up at least 50% of Mike Albert’s employees, if not more.

Mike Albert’s senior leadership team of operational managers are mostly women, and half of the directors are women, the entire title and license department is women, and finally, the entire purchasing department is all women, according to Hudson.

“There’s definitely a good blend of women here,” Hudson said, “but we need to continue to lift those folks up beyond just the senior level.”

Further, Hudson has found her perfect role in the fleet industry without having a background in fleets. Success in the industry isn’t always about knowing every aspect of a vehicle, what’s under the hood, or the type of technology it has. Instead, what makes a great leader in the fleet industry—or any industry—doesn’t have much to do with fleets.

Hudson admits she probably isn’t the most knowledgeable about auto and truck mechanics, and “truth be told, neither do any of the rest of the executives that I work with,” she said. “But I do know how to run departments, increase operational efficiencies, focus on KPIs and leadership, celebrate wins, and [strive for] continuous improvement,” she said.

Yet Hudson knows where her skill set adds the most value, and that is where her confidence and leadership are most evident.

“You want to talk to me about how we can get stuff done more quickly, more efficiently, and more profitably? I'm going to be the first one speaking up,” Hudson explained.

Good leaders never stop learning

Hudson has been at Mike Albert Fleet Solutions for six years, and she plans to retire with the company, though she hopes that’s years from now. What’s helped Hudson achieve her professional goals thus far—and her advice to others in achieving their professional goals, no matter their gender—is to find a good mentor, practice continuous learning, and increase “data storytelling” skills.

With mentorship, it’s important to find not only a good mentor but one that will also act as “an advocate” on your behalf, she elaborated. Further, Hudson practices continuous learning in different ways: One way is by earning industry- or skill-specific certifications, and the other way is as simple as listening to podcasts. She prefers those with topics pertaining to leadership.

“I listen to podcasts every single day—that’s what I do with my commute time,” she said. “If I can [learn] something on my drive in the morning and my drive home at night—winner!”

Finally, data storytelling is a skill that might take practice but pays off professionally.

“Anybody can throw together a PowerPoint, but to be able to throw together something that is just fairly self-explanatory and really nails another point that you want to deliver, I think, is very important,” Hudson said of data storytelling. “You need to be able to present effectively at an executive level; so, invest in yourself and in learning how to speak and how to make the data tell the story that you want to tell.”

Finding success as a woman in the fleet industry doesn’t require a knowledge of trucking or being able to change the oil in a truck. The fleet industry presents multiple opportunities for women, and Amy Hudson is a testament to that.