Michael Gower

Senior fleet and transportation leader with 20+ years directing commercial vehicle operations, multi-site teams, and end-to-end maintenance, procurement, and compliance. Scaled a 400+ asset fleet by 150% while sustaining >95% availability and reducing TCO through lifecycle planning, OEM negotiations, and KPI governance. Expert in telematics, Ontario compliance (MTO, MOL, ESA, CVOR), and cross-functional leadership aligning capacity, safety, and capital planning with growth.

FLEET MANAGER - ELLISDON / OXFORD BUILDERS SUPPLIES - LONDON, ON

(2021-01 - 2026-12)

Directed 400+ trucks, trailers, and support vehicles, sustaining >95% availability to meet project timelines and customer SLAs in a fast-paced commercial environment.

• Scaled fleet capacity 150% over five years via demand forecasting, lifecycle planning, and phased capital acquisitions aligned to revenue and utilization targets.
• Led nationwide OEM/dealer procurement and upfitting: defined specs, negotiated pricing/terms, secured allocations, managed lead times, coordinated upfit installation for readiness and margin protection.
• Managed maintenance/capital budgets; reduced TCO through vendor negotiations, cost/hour–mile analysis, PM, and data-driven repair/rebuild/replace decisions.
• Established KPI cadence with leadership (utilization, OTD, PM compliance, downtime); supervised multi-site teams; implemented SOPs that reduced rework, protected margins, ensured Ontario/HSE compliance.

TRANSPORTATION SUPERVISOR - GOODWILL INDUSTRIES, ONTARIO GREAT LAKES - LONDON, ON

(2017-01 - 2021-12)

Led 7-day/week transportation operation reporting to Operations Manager; managed full team lifecycle (hiring, scheduling, training, performance, development) to consistently meet/exceed service targets.

• Controlled departmental budget and fleet utilization; oversaw acquisition (purchase/lease), specifying with vendors/manufacturers, and coordinated maintenance to optimize cost, uptime, and asset ROI.
• Directed route planning/optimization to improve on-time delivery, stakeholder satisfaction, and efficiency; established/enforced SOPs and KPIs to drive accountability and continuous improvement.
• Ensured regulatory compliance (MTO, MOL, ESA, CVOR); maintained driver files, abstracts, inspections, licensing, and load-securement standards to mitigate risk and protect service continuity.
• Implemented Geotab and Geopom ordering systems; leveraged MS Office/fleet platforms to analyze data, generate insights, and align capacity with internal needs via cross-functional partnerships (Stores, Donation Centres, Warehouse).

LOGISTICS COORDINATOR - ORGILL CANADA HARDLINES ULC - LONDON, ON

(2015-01 - 2017-12)

Directed day-to-day fleet/DC operations across inter-provincial locations; optimized scheduling, dispatch, route/load planning, workload prioritization to maximize efficiency and on-time delivery for 15–20 outbound truckloads/day based on seasonal volume.

• Oversaw fleet maintenance/compliance via third-party providers; ensured safety standards, E-log requirements, PeopleNet protocols.
• Led cross-functional coordination of special-order/non-stock inventory, customs/IMDG docs, 3PL loading specs (cube/weight/freight) to prevent overloads and ensure compliance.
• Produced daily dock/load reports; communicated real-time changes, late/missed orders, early picks to align execution and 3PL builds with targets.

OPERATIONS MANAGER - Coast to Coast Transportation / A.C. Transit Cooling Systems - Woodstock, ON

(1997-01 - 2001-12)

Directed 24/7 transport/HVAC operations, 50+ drivers/contractors, >95% on-time performance, HSE/CVOR compliance, budget and vendor management.

ACCOUNT MANAGER/LOGISTICS COORDINATOR - FLS Transportation - London, ON

(2011-01 - 2012-12)

End-to-end LTL/FTL coordination, carrier dispatch, TMS accuracy, performance monitoring and corrective actions.

OWNER/OPERATOR - Simplyclear Window Cleaners - London, ON

(2009-01 - 2015-12)

Built seasonal service business; end-to-end sales, scheduling, quoting, OHSA-aligned safety, job-cost tracking.

MEDIA CONSULTANT - Canpages - London, ON

(2009-01 - 2010-12)

New business sales for print/digital advertising; full-cycle prospecting, negotiation, onboarding, CRM pipeline management.

FUND DEVELOPMENT MANAGER / PERSONAL GIVING MANAGER / MAJOR GIFTS & PLANNED GIVING OFFICER - Parkinson Society SW Ontario / CNIB / The Salvation Army - London, ON

(2003-01 - 2009-12)

Multi-channel revenue growth, five-figure major gifts, planned giving, donor retention via CRM/KPIs.

FINANCIAL SERVICES ADVISOR - Clarica Life Insurance - Woodstock, ON

(2001-01 - 2003-12)

Life/insurance/retirement advice, needs analysis, portfolio growth, regulatory compliance (LLQP/MFDA/IIROC).

CREW LEADER - Statistics Canada - London, ON

(2011-01 - 2011-12)

Led 15 enumerators; route assignment, coaching, data quality, on-schedule area and region closeout.

Business Management, Sales & Marketing coursework - FANSHAWE COLLEGE