NETS Board Member Named Fleet Executive of the Year

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Vienna, Va.— Maggie Cole, Director of Environmental, Safety & Health (ESH) for Monsanto and Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) board of directors’ member, was named Fleet Financials magazine’s 2012 Fleet Executive of the Year. Cole is responsible for Monsanto’s Global Vehicle Safety and Global Off-The-Job Safety programs, as well as U.S. Commercial ESH.

“A great fleet executive creates a vision, articulates the vision, and empowers their team members to implement the strategies to achieve the vision,” said Mike Antich, editor of Fleet Financials Magazine. “These qualities are demonstrated in Maggie’s leadership at Monsanto, making her an outstanding choice for this year’s award.”

“I am honored to accept the award on behalf of Monsanto.  I am very proud of the passion and focus Monsanto continues to place on improving road and occupant safety for our employees, as well as our families, the communities where we live and operate, and our customers,” Cole said.

According to Cole, safety is, and always has been, a central value within Monsanto.   In fact, the organization emphasizes the importance of extending its safety culture and road safety training beyond its company drivers with its Global Off-the-Job safety program.

“Safety is a core Monsanto value and we see it as a corporate responsibility to share that value beyond the workplace,” said Cole. “Monsanto’s Global Off-the-Job Safety program is the formal networking and sharing of its principal safety culture worldwide.  A majority of the outreach efforts are focused on road safety, such as driving skills, driver behavior, teen driving and sharing the road.”

Cole has a total of eight employees on her team who she credits with helping make Monsanto’s road safety program so strong, including Vehicle Safety Project Manager Brenda Cockrell, Global Vehicle Safety Lead Jeff Castillo, Global Off-The-Job Safety Lead Mark Schuerman, and U.S. Commercial ESH Lead Ken Mathias.

Sponsored by CEI and Fleet Financials Magazine since 2001, the Fleet Executive of the Year Award was presented to Cole at the recent NAFA Fleet Management Association conference. Cole will be the keynote speaker at the Road Safety Conference sponsored by Automotive Fleet in Schaumberg, Ill. May 22-23 and will also be featured on the cover of the July/August issue of Fleet Financials Magazine with an in-depth article discussing her achievements at Monsanto.

Monsanto has been a board member of NETS since 2004 and has participated in the NETS STRENGTH IN NUMBERS road safety benchmark program since 2007.  Established in 1989, NETS and its board of director companies are recognized in the U.S. and around the world for their dedication and leadership in advancing employer-led road safety.  Monsanto is joined on the NETS board by Abbott, AmeriFleet Transportation, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, The Coca-Cola Company, Johnson & Johnson, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Group, and UPS.  Representatives from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are board member liaisons to the federal government.  NETS is a 501(c)3 public/private partnership dedicated to improving the safety and health of employees, their families, and members of the communities in which they live and work by preventing traffic crashes that occur both on- and off-the-job.  For more information on NETS, visit the organization’s website at www.trafficsafety.org.