Taylor Murphy of Hilti accepts his 2025 Automotive Fleet Visionary Award, the primary on his newly began path in fleet management.
“Do not get bogged down on the day-to-day operations and miss the larger picture, since you (fleet managers) do greater than you understand. You send fuel cards out, you assign trainings, and you furthermore mght make the world safer, and more sustainable,” said Taylor Murphy as he closed out his speech because the 2025 Automotive Fleet Visionary Award winner.
The Fleet Visionary Award spotlights an industry leader who promotes and champions innovation, leading to more efficient, cost-effective, and safer fleet operations.
With just 4 years on the earth of fleet, Taylor Murphy is a forward-thinking fleet manager who spearheaded Hilti’s North American fleet electrification initiative. Starting in finance and transitioning to fleet, Murphy’s background helped drive his success in fleet.
Murphy was presented with the award, sponsored by Merchants Fleet, on the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA) 2025 Corporate Fleet Conference in Florida on September 15, 2025.
From Finance to Sustainability
Jumping in with each feet, Murphy led Hilti’s initiative toward electrification, successfully transforming Hilti’s fleet of over 2,500 vehicles right into a hybrid and electric lineup. This includes the addition of 200 EV pickups, making Hilti one in all the biggest recipients of that specific EV model.
“Sustainability and safety, it’s embedded in our culture,” he continued from the stage. “We would like to be our customers ‘ best partners in sustainability and safety, and so we’ve got to live that inside fleet.”
Taylor referenced when the fleet first acquired electric vehicles 4 years ago, and the strategy involved in getting them to the correct drivers and solving initial operational challenges. “It has been an interesting time,” he noted.
Going beyond the acquisition of electrical and hybrid vehicles, Murphy worked hand-in-hand along with his OEM to plan and implement charging and vehicle command processes that might work for Hilti’s fleet. He also worked closely along with his FMC’s analytics team to investigate usage data and performance.
Hilti’s fleet is now composed of 72% sustainable vehicles, with 60.5% hybrids, and 11.6% full EVs, exceeding the corporate’s 2025 sustainability goals. Murphy’s efforts also improved Hilti’s fleet fuel efficiency by 12%.
With this data in hand, Taylor cemented the success of this initiative by designing driver engagement strategies that inspired a culture of pleasure and unity amongst employees across the transition to hybrid and electric vehicles.
Safety and Technology
On the heels of his electrification success, Murphy turned his focus to safety.
“I joined 4 years ago from a background of finance and moved to the fleet world. I had no idea what fleet was. A fleet management company (was) totally foreign to me, but with great partners like Wheels, they helped bring me to where I’m now, and helping to point out me what the industry looks like,” said Murphy.
Murphy has designed and implemented a comprehensive fleet safety program emphasizing proactive risk management and driver engagement.
Central to his plan was telematics technology. Using modern technology to investigate real-time driving data like driving behavior, vehicle performance, and safety incidents allowed Taylor the insight needed to discover problem areas and concentrate on event-based driver training.
Most notably, Taylor was capable of overcome one in all the largest barriers to electrification and safety implementation: driver skepticism.
Encouraging drivers to share their stories firsthand on social media made drivers feel included within the EV adoption efforts. This inclusion evolved into vocal support of the brand new EVs, helping Hilti further cement its position as a pacesetter in fleet electrification inside the industry.
Construct Your Network
Though he’s a newcomer to the world of fleet, Murphy understands the importance of teamwork and network constructing on this industry.
Looking amongst his peers, he had this to say:
“You are probably one, perhaps two people inside your organization that helps manage the vehicles. But you should reach out, find other folks that are in the identical spot that you simply are, create those contacts, and keep managing them.”
Murphy referenced his relationship with Ted Chan, a fleet manager at Schindler Elevator, as a mentor and friend. “He’s my one-person sounding board. … He helps me see that he’s going through the identical things that I’m doing.”
Murphy looks forward to continuing his work in fleet, making the industry safer and more sustainable.
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