Safe Fleet announced that Steve Kiefer has joined as its new senior vice president of Commercial Vehicle North America.

Kiefer replaces Brad Templeman who is retiring at the end of 2022. Based in the Safe Fleet Elmhurst, Illinois, office, Kiefer will assume responsibility for the Commercial Vehicle product portfolio and market share growth for its last-mile delivery, commercial upfitting, and video-based safety solutions, according to the company's news release.

“I am excited to join the Safe Fleet Commercial Vehicle team,” said Kiefer. “I look forward to growing awareness for Safe Fleet’s market-leading brands and innovative safety solutions that help keep commercial vehicle operators safe and productive.”

Kiefer joins Safe Fleet from Manitex, a $250 million publicly traded manufacturer of truck-mounted cranes and specialized lifting equipment, where he most recently served as their president and COO. In this role, he was responsible for top line and EBITDA growth across Manitex’s brands in the US, EU, and South America.

Prior to joining Manitex, Kiefer was the business development, sales, and marketing VP at the Pettibone Group, where he was responsible for driving global sales growth and implementing channel development strategies. He also served as the president of Intellitec Products.

“We are pleased to have Steve on board,” said Michael Schulte, president of Safe Fleet. “With his broad experience developing and executing market growth strategies, engineering, and new product development, Steve is a great asset to further strengthen our position as the leading supplier of safety and productivity solutions for the commercial vehicle market.”