NETS 2026 Strength IN Numbers®
Fleet Safety Benchmark Conference
Keynote Speaker Bios
Mike Lutzenkirchen ~ Executive Director and Co-founder, The Lutzie 43 Foundation: Philip’s Legacy… What Legacy Are You Leaving?
Mike Lutzenkirchen is the Executive Director and Co-founder of the Lutzie 43 Foundation. Mike speaks to people of all ages about his son Philip’s story and the foundation’s mission to encourage safer and smarter driver behaviors, emphasizing 43 Key Seconds to educate and reinforce good decision-making behind the wheel. Mike’s heartfelt talk touches on who Philip was as a person, the poor decisions that led to his death, and ultimately the ways others can prevent further crashes like his from taking place on the road. He speaks not as a policy advocate, but as a father, sharing the story of Philip and the foundation that grew from the worst morning of his life.
Philip’s Legacy… What Legacy Are You Leaving?
In this inspiring keynote, featured at the Road Safety Awards Dinner, Mike Lutzenkirchen shares the story behind the Lutzie 43 Foundation, created after the loss of his son Philip, a National Championship-winning Auburn tight end who died in a preventable crash at age 23. What began in grief became a lasting commitment to saving lives and building character.
Drawing on Philip’s story while honoring Susan Hipp’s enduring impact on the roadway safety community, this keynote challenges safety leaders to consider the legacy they create through every policy, every decision, and every life they influence.
Bill Sims Jr. ~ President, The Bill Sims Company: From Nets To Networks: Building Mental Health Safety Nets
Bill Sims Jr. is a world-renowned expert in behavioral safety and positive reinforcement, helping organizations build stronger safety cultures and improve performance for more than 30 years. As a Top 10 National Safety Council speaker, he has designed more than 1,000 positive reinforcement systems for organizations including Disney, NASA, UPS, Coca-Cola, Siemens, DuPont, Ford, and General Motors.
Bill is the founder of The Bill Sims Company and author of Green Beans & Ice Cream: The Remarkable Power of Positive Reinforcement. His practical, engaging approach equips leaders with proven strategies to motivate employees, strengthen safety leadership, and create lasting behavior change.
From Nets To Networks: Building Mental Health Safety Nets
Just as Golden Gate Bridge builders installed nets to catch falling workers, leaders must build mental health safety nets before crisis strikes. This featured keynote will help attendees learn to recognize silent warning signs in tough workplace cultures, understand why isolation and stigma prevent help-seeking, and discover how positive reinforcement creates belonging that saves lives.
Doug Marcello ~ Trucking and Commercial Transportation Attorney, Saxton & Stump: Making Your Safety Data Work for You, Not Against You
Doug Marcello, a shareholder with the law firm of Saxton & Stump, is a trucking defense attorney with a CDL. He had represented trucking clients across the country, having been specially admitted for cases in 36 states. Doug received the 2018 Leadership Award of the ATA Safety Council. He has been a member of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Assn. Board for 20 years and is currently the Treasurer. He is also a member of the National Private Truck Council Board. He has served on the advisory board of the American Trucking Research Institute. Doug is a member of numerous trucking organizations, including Treasurer of the PA Motor Truck Association and member of the American Trucking Associations Safety Council as well as trucking legal defense organizations including TIDA. He has written numerous articles concerning trucking safety and defense and is a frequent guest on SiriusXM Road Dog Trucking. You can also find his interviews and presentation on his Youtube channel and podcast, “TransportCenter”, on iTunes as well as the Saxton & Stump YouTube channel.
Making Your Safety Data Work for You, Not Against You
As employers collect increasing amounts of fleet and safety data, organizations face growing questions around litigation exposure, defensible processes, and how to turn objective data into a strategic advantage. This keynote will explore how AI, telematics, and objective safety data can help organizations strengthen their defense strategies in an increasingly complex legal environment.
Topics will include:
• Why companies are losing cases they should win
• How organizations can “flip the script” on Reptile Theory-style attacks
• Using objective data to rebut the subjective experts of billboard attorneys
