Penske Truck Leasing’s Mike Hasinec Received the 2020 CCJ Magazine Maintenance Leadership Award
Mike Hasinec's distinguished career at Penske Truck Leasing has been recognized by the transportation industry. The company's vice president of maintenance is the 2020 recipient of Commercial Carrier Journal's Technology and Maintenance Career Leadership Award.
He is the 44th honoree and joins Ken McKibben (1979) as the second Penske associate to earn the distinction.
This award is reserved for those who have demonstrated substantial contributions to the field of truck fleet maintenance management. The magazine's editorial staff, in an open nomination process, heavily weighted integrity, reputation and recognition when making their selection.
Jason Cannon, CCJ editor: "Mike has been instrumental in developing and leading many of Penske's maintenance technology projects. Mike's 'never say no' attitude and ability to simply figure things out have made his an innovative voice for many years."
McKibben, the company's former senior vice president of maintenance who retired from Penske Truck Leasing in 2010, nominated Hasinec.
Hasinec has fond memories of his former boss. "A special thanks goes out to Ken McKibben, who unfortunately passed away before the announcement of me receiving this award," he stated. "Ken played a big role in my career and he taught me many things. He had a lot to do with me receiving this award and for that, I am forever grateful."
Four-Plus Decades of Service
During a Penske career that began in 1978 as a fueler in Greenville, South Carolina, Hasinec has progressed to management roles in a number of U.S. markets. His titles included district service manager, area maintenance manager and vice president of field maintenance. In 2002 he moved to company headquarters and has been serving in several leadership capacities.
Among Hasinec's major accomplishments at Penske:
- Development and management of technical training and internal tech certification programs.
- Creation of a parts management system; and the consolidation of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) diagnostic and repair software into a centralized database.
- Building of the Penske Technology and Education center in Reading, Pennsylvania.
- Formation of several diesel particulate filter (DPF) service centers.
A longtime member of the American Trucking Association's Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC), Hasinec served two terms on the board of governors for the National Institute for Automotive Excellence (ASE) and sits on, or has sat on, a number of truck OEM customer councils.
Hasinec stated: I am honored to receive this award and want to thank Penske Transportation Solutions, CCJ and the trucking industry for the opportunity they provided me in my career and this recognition. I consider myself lucky to work for a great organization along with a lot of talented people, as they had a great part in everything I have accomplished."
Award Media Coverage
Cannon, the CCJ editor, sat down with Hasinec for a wide-ranging interview that produced an in-depth magazine profile and a video that included his family and work colleagues.
Among the interesting revelations:
- Hasinec was born in New Jersey and moved to South Carolina with his family at age 13.
- He learned early in his career the importance of never saying no to professional opportunities.
- When implementing change, Hasinec realized the value of getting people to buy in, and to avoid changing things too soon. He observed first.
- He enjoys developing those that work for him, and seeing them grow and become successful.
- Hasinec career advice: Be OK with moving in order to advance the corporate ladder; take advantage of opportunities.
- An employer only owes you an opportunity: what you do with it is up to you.
"This is a tremendous honor for Mike and I am delighted that his immense contributions to the transportation industry are being recognized," remarked Brian Hard, president of Penske Transportation Solutions.
"Mike's leadership in the modernization of our best-in-class maintenance operations have proved invaluable in our company's efforts to keep pace with incredible technological advances," explained Gregg Mangione, Penske Truck Leasing senior vice president of maintenance.
By Alen Beljin
