When you talk to Amy McAdams, CAFM, you don’t just get fleet anecdotes. You get engine-bay childhood stories, big-picture perspective, and a reminder that this industry can actually be a lot of fun.

McAdams is one of those fleet leaders who quietly keeps things moving, builds strong teams, and somehow makes room to mentor the next wave coming up behind her. The Diebold Nixdorf Fleet Manager joined Work Truck for an episode of Fleet Legends, a video series sponsored byLegend Fleet, where we dig into the stories behind the people shaping the industry today.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation. You can catch the full interview in the video at the top of the page.

From Race Cars to “Baby Fleet Manager”

McAdams fleet story literally started under the hood.

She grew up the daughter of a race car driver, which meant weekends and off-hours were spent around engines, tools, and the organized chaos of the track. One of her earliest memories is sitting in the engine compartment of her dad’s ’57 Chevy stock car as a toddler, “helping” by holding wrenches and getting covered in grease.

Even with that background, she didn’t set out to be a fleet manager. Her formal path started in accounting. She earned an accounting degree and spent years working for both small mom-and-pop businesses and larger organizations. The work was solid, but it didn’t light her up.

“Frankly, it was boring,” she said with a laugh.

That changed when she was working for ABM Industries and the company was transitioning from one fleet management company to another. The corporate fleet manager was leaving. McAdams, already close to the process and naturally curious, decided to raise her hand.

Her interim controller knew how she operated. He knew she asked questions, pushed for answers, and didn’t back down easily. So when she threw her hat in the ring, he said yes.

She jokes that she started as a “baby fleet manager,” learning everything she could as fast as possible. But once she got in, that was it.

She was hooked.

Seeing Electrification as the Next Big Fuel Shift

When you’ve been in fleet as long as McAdams has, you get a front-row seat to big changes. For her, the most significant shift has been electrification.

To put it in perspective, she compares it to the switch from horse-and-buggy to early automobiles. Back then, there weren’t gas stations on every corner, and fueling a vehicle took planning and patience. Today, we’re in a similar place with EV charging.

She sees electrification as a complete reimagining of what a vehicle is and how we fuel it, not just a spec change. She’s quick to remind fleets that:

• We’re still in the early stages of the transition.

• Infrastructure will take time to catch up.

• Not every fleet or route is ready for EVs yet.

She also doesn’t expect everything to be “figured out” before she retires, and that’s okay. What matters to her is that fleets are thoughtful about who can electrify and who can’t, and that the industry doesn’t force fleets into the wrong solution just to chase a trend.

The goal is the same as always: safe, reliable, cost-effective operations that keep drivers productive and customers happy. Electrification is simply the next chapter.

Lessons From the COVID Era That Still Matter

Like many fleet leaders, McAdams came out of the COVID era with a sharper sense of what “status quo” really means.

That period forced fleets to think differently about:

• Supply chain gaps.

• Vehicle availability.

• Remote work and support.

• New ways to keep drivers safe and productive.

McAdams believes those lessons are still shaping decisions today. If you made it through that period as a fleet manager, you had to get creative, flexible, and a little scrappy. You probably also learned how valuable your peer network really is.

Her advice: use those lessons daily and share them freely. Not everyone went through the same challenges in the same way, so your perspective might be exactly what another fleet needs to hear.

Why Fleet Managers Touch Every Part of the Business

One of her favorite early turning points came at her very first fleet conference, a NTEA Work Truck Week–adjacent event about 15 years ago. She walked into her first workshop knowing no one, surrounded by a room full of strangers who all seemed more experienced.

The topic was getting buy-in for fleet decisions. After the session, another attendee pulled her aside and shared a piece of wisdom that stuck: "No matter where fleet reports on the org chart, you touch every part of the organization." You might report into finance, procurement, or operations, but your decisions impact drivers, technicians, safety, field operations, IT, leadership, and even HR and legal. That realization changed how she approached her role.

McAdams views fleet not as a back-office function but as a connector that quietly keeps the entire business moving.

What She Wishes She’d Known on Day One

When asked what she wishes she’d known at the beginning of her fleet career, her answer was simple.

She wishes she’d known how fun it was going to be.

Is it always easy? Of course not. She’s honest that some days feel like “glorified babysitting,” and that the job comes with stress, long hours, and tough calls.

But even on the hard days, she finds joy in:

• Solving problems for drivers and stakeholders.

• Untangling complex challenges.

• Seeing a strategy come together in the real world.

• Building friendships that last far beyond any job title.

If she could go back in time and talk to her younger self, McAdams says she would’ve told herself to get into fleet sooner.

Telematics, Cameras, and the Power of Knowing What’s Really Happening

When McAdams started, fleet was much more of a “wait and see” world. If a driver had a problem, or a vehicle failed, you often didn’t know until the phone rang.

Now, telematics and camera technology have completely changed the game.

Today, her team can see where vehicles are operating in real time, get engine diagnostic alerts before a breakdown, and review video to understand what really happened in an incident.

That visibility isn’t just about productivity. For McAdams, it’s a safety tool first.

She has seen cameras exonerate drivers who were blamed for crashes they didn’t cause, reveal medical events drivers didn’t even know they were experiencing, and give fleets the ability to intervene sooner and support drivers better.

To her, that use of technology is what “good” looks like. It’s not about catching people doing something wrong. It’s about protecting drivers and the public and making sure everyone gets home safely.

Leading Teams by Explaining the Why

McAdams has led all kinds of teams, from lean groups to more robust operations with specialized roles. Across every version, she keeps coming back to one leadership principle.

She wants to know how to do anything she asks someone else to do.

That hands-on mindset helps her troubleshoot problems alongside her team, understand workloads and bottlenecks, and build trust by showing she “gets i.t”

But the piece she emphasizes most is explaining the why behind the ask.

Whether it’s reviewing sensitive camera footage or rolling out a new process, she’s learned that people handle tough tasks much better when they understand:

• The purpose

• The context

• How it connects to the bigger picture

That approach is rooted in how she wants to be managed herself. McAdams has had some great bosses throughout her career, and she works hard to mirror the best of what they modeled for her: clear expectations, respect, and honest communication.

Looking Ahead to Drones, Hover Cars, and Whatever Comes Next

McAdams has managed just about everything with wheels in her fleets at one point or another, so when she talks about the future, she’s not just thinking about sedans and work trucks.

She fully expects alternative mobility to play a bigger role, whether that’s rideshare, autonomous vehicles, drones, or something we haven’t fully imagined yet. She jokes that she’s still waiting for someone to hand her a fleet of drones to manage, and yes, she’s still holding out hope for a hover car, thanks to a childhood spent watching The Jetsons.

Underneath the humor is a serious point. Fleet isn’t static. The assets may change, the tools may get smarter, and the job titles may evolve, but the need for smart, grounded leadership never goes away.

Gratitude, Mentors, and Why She Still Says She’s 'Not a Legend'

At the end of our conversation, McAdams used her time to thank the people who poured into her along the way. She credits a long list of mentors, peers, and friends in fleet who:

• Took time to answer questions.

• Shared their own hard-earned lessons.

• Opened doors and made introductions.

• Challenged her to grow.

To McAdams, those relationships are the real foundation of her career. She insists she’s “not a legend,” just a fleet manager who was lucky enough to learn from good people and pass that help on.

We’ll disagree with her on that part. McAdams is absolutely a legend in our book.

If you’re a newer fleet manager or even a seasoned pro who needs a reminder of why this work matters, her story is a good place to start. Be curious, stay connected, explain the why, and don’t forget to have a little fun along the way.