Mercury Associates, Inc. Marks 10 Years in Business with Personnel Changes and Major New Clients

Gaithersburg, MD, April 12, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Mercury Associates, Inc. is wrapping up its tenth year in business with important personnel changes and the addition of several notable new clients both in the US and overseas. The company has made tremendous strides over the past ten years, growing from a three-person company to the largest dedicated fleet management consulting firm in North America, with a staff of 30.

Incorporated in February 2002, Mercury has built a coast-to-coast staff of consultants with extensive experience not only in management consulting, but in hands-on fleet management across a range of industries. These include federal, state, and local government; the US and Canadian armed forces; public transit; electric and gas utilities; telecommunications; manufacturing; commercial motor carriers; and fleet leasing; among others. Mercury’s fleet management consulting services have assisted organizations in improving performance and reducing costs in virtually every facet of fleet management. The firm’s data centers in Houston and Seattle have hosted commercial off-the-shelf fleet management information systems for a diverse set a clients including Cox Enterprises; Danella, General Motors; Harris County, TX; State Farm; Tinker Air Force Base, and Willbros. Mercury’s other services include management information system implementation, maintenance facility master planning, management training, executive recruiting, and expert witness services.

Mercury’s professional staff recently has undergone several changes. Adlore Chaudier, a Senior Manager and co-director of the firm’s federal government fleet management consulting practice, retired, although he continues to work with the firm on a part-time basis. Willie Gookin, following a distinguished career in supply chain management with the Department of Defense and NASA, joined Mercury as a Manager. Gary Hatfield, co-director of federal government fleet management consulting was promoted to Vice President. Mercury co-founder Brad Kelley, who directs the company’s IT consulting and application hosting business, was promoted to Senior Vice President.

Two recent additions to Mercury’s professional staff, Kate Vigneau and Bannu Hurtig, who joined the firm as Senior Consultants, reside in Canada. Ms. Vigneau recently retired from the Canada Department of National Defence, where she oversaw a fleet of 32,000 vehicles and pieces of equipment. One of her last postings prior to the end of her military career was as Logistics Section Chief at NATO's Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger, Norway, where she was responsible for teaching, facilitating, and training NATO Headquarters’ personnel across Europe.

Ms. Hurtig joined Mercury after retiring from Canada’s premier telecommunications company, Bell. During her 28-year career there, she held management positions in wireless technology, marketing, and network technology. A registered professional engineer, Ms. Hurtig served as Managing Director in Bell’s Vehicle Fleet Solutions (VFS) organization immediately prior to joining Mercury. VFS manages a nationwide fleet of 13,000 vehicles for upwards of 15 subsidiaries of Bell Canada Enterprises, Inc.

In its tenth year, Mercury added several new clients to the list of almost 300 organizations it has served since 2002, in addition to performing new projects for previous clients. These included the states of Alaska, California, and Iowa; the cities of Baltimore, Boston, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Seattle; and such prominent corporations as 3M, Air Products, BP, Ecofrotas (Brazil); Emirates Transport (UAE), Intel, Pfizer, and Rockwell Collins.

Mercury’s President, Paul Lauria, reflected on the company’s past achievements and future opportunities: “Two recessions, rising and increasingly volatile fuel prices, the growing prominence of alternative fuels, and a host of other developments have made the last decade an interesting but trying one for much of the fleet industry. We are pleased that so many organizations, both large and small, across such a broad range of industries have turned to Mercury for help in dealing with these challenges. We don’t know what the next decade has in store for us, but it undoubtedly will bring many new opportunities, clients, employees, and strategic partners our way. We look forward to the next bend in the road.”