Q&A: IntelliShift’s Henry Popplewell Shares Vision for Innovation & Growth

IntelliShift, a fleet intelligence platform for safety and operations teams, announced that Henry Popplewell joined the company as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective January 2, 2024.

Popplewell, who comes with a wealth of experience in the industry, spoke to Work Truck about his goals, vision, and the role of technology in driving innovation for commercial fleets.

A Q&A with Popplewell of IntelliShift

WORK TRUCK: What inspired you to join IntelliShift as its new CEO, and what do you see as the company's greatest strengths and opportunities for growth? 

POPPLEWELL: IntelliShift has a rock-solid technology platform to help our customers consolidate their fleet tech stacks and see huge gains in safety and efficiency, allowing them to achieve a significant ROI quickly.

Beyond that, what most attracted me to the company was the amazing culture and people at IntelliShift, who create an exceptional customer experience for all our clients.

WT: You have a background in sales leadership, customer experience, product development, and operational excellence. How do you leverage these skills to drive growth and innovation at IntelliShift? 

POPPLEWELL: Our product roadmap and operational efficiencies will be delivered or improved from a “customer out” perspective. We view our customers' success as our success, using their needs, insights, and endorsement to drive our strategies.

WT: How do you see the role of data analytics and artificial intelligence evolving in the fleet management industry, and how will IntelliShift continue to stay ahead of the curve in this area? 

POPPLEWELL: It is the most critical aspect of fleet solutions today. With the advancements in technology and the increase in the amount of data generated from vehicle telematics, video telematics, and other sensors — simplifying the ingestion of all of that information is critical.

Beyond streamlining the data collection and analytics available, AI must automatically detect and raise exceptions and anomalies so operators and users can be more proactive than ever.

WT: Your previous experience includes leading organizations such as Telular Corporation and SkyBitz Inc. Could you share any key lessons learned or best practices you'll bring to your role at IntelliShift? 

POPPLEWELL: The best lessons learned are to deliver reliable solutions that solve actual customer pain points, helping the client improve profitability through an exceptional end-to-end customer lifecycle. Act fast and have a brand that says, “We do what we say we are going to do.”

WT: How do you approach building and managing high-performing teams, and what strategies will you use to foster a culture of innovation and collaboration at IntelliShift? 

POPPLEWELL: We believe it is vital to recognize the positive role our employees play in IntelliShift's success. We like to hire well, chase big goals, inspire our people to be engaged, and ultimately deliver amazing results. It’s very important to recognize and celebrate success along the way.

WT: As a passionate advocate for digital technology, how do you see the adoption of emerging technologies like IoT, AI, and machine learning impacting the fleet management industry in the coming years? 

POPPLEWELL: The fleet management industry continues to pioneer a digital transformation, greatly changing business primarily due to the ease of adoption of IoT solutions that deliver relevant data for analytics, trending, and AI-enhanced data science. The scale of sensor capabilities being developed is huge, and these sensors help our customers' fleets operate more efficiently and safely. That said, we are just getting started with the impact that AI and machine learning will have on the fleet management space, and I am excited about what’s coming.

WT: Can you share any specific plans or initiatives for expanding IntelliShift's offerings and capabilities in the near future? 

POPPLEWELL: Our commitment to our clients will drive our strategies and decisions. We are committed to offering the industry’s next generation of solutions to our fleet customers, supported by our exceptional customer experience, which we believe is second to none in our space. We are intrigued by the many effective and useful applications we can support on our platform. We will look to continue that development as costs rise and safety remains critical.

WT: Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals for IntelliShift, and how do you envision the company continuing to evolve and adapt to meet the changing needs of its customers and the broader market? 

POPPLEWELL: We see IntelliShift as a market leader in fleet safety and efficiency. Our vision is to be the platform of choice for those seeking to be the safest and most efficient fleets in the world. We continue to innovate, and build based on this vision. The demands of rising fleet operational costs are here to stay. We will bring exceptional value to our customers by understanding their needs, offering reliable solutions, and focusing on the markets we serve.