In our Meet the Experts series, we introduce you to key members of the Interleasing team and shine a spotlight on their expertise. Here we talk to Bruno Hrstic, one of Interleasing’s longest-serving staff members.
How long have you been working in the world of fleet for?
I have over 17 years’ experience in the fleet industry. I spent approximately five years at Ford in their fleet team prior to joining Interleasing 12 years ago.
What does your role entail and what excites you about it?
My role is to oversee our client relationships for the southern region, which spans Victoria, Tasmania, SA and WA, ensuring we understand our clients’ needs, what’s important to them and to ensure we deliver to their expectations.
I am passionate about our clients, their experience with us and I enjoy the interaction. While client experience is important, so too is the leadership of our team of Relationship Managers and Officers. We are lucky to have an experienced team that I support and mentor to help navigate positive outcomes for both individuals and their clients.
What are some of the challenges that you help solve for clients?
We work with clients to solve many problems ranging from targeted cost savings and cost predictability, reducing risk – financial through to OHS – and more recently the need to reduce emissions. We have many tools available to help fleet managers, including a suite of digital capabilities – pool car booking platform, driver e-learning, grey fleet compliance, accident management, and telematics.
What are the biggest opportunities for fleet managers?
The fleet industry is evolving and there continues to be a greater focus on sustainability. There is a real opportunity for fleet managers to be a leader in their organisation when it comes to ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) and carbon reduction, whether that be removing, reducing and/or offsetting emissions.
What future trends do fleet managers need to be aware of?
The emergence of EVs has surprised many and will continue to grow with new models being released all the time. In April EVs accounted for 8% of new car sales1 so it will be interesting to see what further impact the FBT changes have to the adoption of EVs.
In addition to EVs, with hybrid working now the norm we continue to see an increase in grey fleets, that is employees using their own vehicle for work purposes, posing greater risks to organisations from an OHS perspective.
What makes Interleasing different?
Interleasing has a leading client-to-relationship manager ratio, ensuring we continue to deliver an excellent level of service. We are flexible, offer bespoke solutions and look outside the box to achieve outcomes for our clients.
What is the biggest opportunity for Interleasing in the coming years?
Interleasing has recognised the importance of mandated ESG policies and has quickly emerged as a market leader in the EV transition space. We have learnt from our own experiences implementing EVs in our fleet, as well as providing consultancy to our clients. We have appointed a General Manager of EV Infrastructure and are well placed to assist clients on their EV journeys. The opportunity is to remain at the forefront as the requirements of fleets evolve.
What was your first job?
Working as a TA (Trades Assistant) for a mining company in remote Western Australia over school holidays.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by the achievements of an underdog, winning against the odds.
What’s your proudest achievement while at Interleasing?
I am proudest of my promotion in 2021 to Manager, Client Relationships – Southern Region. I have grown with the additional responsibility, and it has allowed me to share my knowledge and experiences with the team and our clients.
1. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, April 2023 Car Sales Data, 3 May 2023
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