Elevating the Fleet Industry

Executive Leadership Team

We are proud of our entire team at Merchants Fleet – hardworking individuals, collaborating to solve our clients’ needs

We are excited to be among the best fleet management companies, and that success is because of our entire team at Merchants Fleet – hardworking individuals who collaborate to provide the best fleet solutions for our clients’ needs. The Merchants executive leadership team guides these efforts. Combined, they have over 300 years of experience in fleet management, an average of 22 years of leadership experience, and they lead over 500 employees nationally. We believe in the power of people, which is why we have hired some of the best talents in the industry. Meet the minds that drive Merchants forward every day.

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Brendan P Keegan

Brendan P. Keegan

Chairman, CEO & President

Check out Brendan’s articles featured in publications like Inc, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Newsweek and more.

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Brendan P. Keegan is an award-winning 6-time president, chief executive officer, and the visionary leader behind the bFearless movement. Throughout his career he has raised over $10.0 billion in capital while leading over 250,000 people globally. Today, he serves as co-owner and board member of Merchants Fleet, United Autosports, Andretti Racing Extreme E, Sky Meadow Country Club, Revolution Armor, and ExpressIT Delivery.

Keegan began his career as a systems engineer for EDS where his drive and dedication helped him advance quickly through the ranks of the Fortune 500 company. As he moved through account management, financial operations, P&L management, business development, and sales, he ultimately became the company’s first Chief Sales Officer. At the top, Keegan was able to recognize where his passions truly lie – executive leadership and technology.

Not allowing fear and uncertainty to prevent him from exploring these passions, Keegan uprooted his life and ventured to Silicon Valley. He joined Netigy as Chief Sales Officer and Bravanta as President & CEO. After successful exits, Keegan led Seven Worldwide as President, BancTec as President, Worldwide Technology Services as President & CEO and velocityHUB as Founder & Managing Partner.

Working with Merchants Fleet originally as a client and later as a board member and strategic advisor, Keegan provided valuable insights to the company on building a growth company. He realized the potential for market disruption, segueing with Keegan accepting an offer to take over as CEO. Under his leadership, Merchants became the fastest growing fleet management company in North America and rose from 8th in the industry to 4th in under 5 years. Keegan led Merchants to a successful strategic sale to Bain Capital and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). Now, as Chairman, CEO & President, Keegan is continuing to disrupt the commercial fleet landscape, fueling business transformation and driving enterprise value to fleets across the United States.

Keegan received his bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, MBA from George Washington University, and Executive Certificates from Harvard, Columbia, UPenn, MIT, Yale, and the University of Chicago. Keegan resides in the greater Boston area with his wife Dana and their two children Kaylie and Patrick who are making names for themselves through their own academic and athletic pursuits.

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Brad Burgess​

Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing

Brad Burgess serves as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Merchants Fleet. In his role he oversees both the sales & marketing teams with a focus on driving business growth and building brand awareness.

Joining Merchants in 2023, Burgess develops creative solutions to address the needs and challenges of Merchants Fleet clients, while helping them stay on the cutting edge of fleet. Under his leadership, Merchants’ product offerings will continue to be best-in-class, with advancements related to technology, electrification, market expansion, and more. ​

A tenured fleet industry professional, Burgess has more than two decades of experience in selling service solutions to Fortune 500-1000 companies. Prior to Merchants, Burgess served as VP, Commercial Operations, Marketing, and Global Relationships at Element Fleet Management, where his strategic mindset and robust understanding of the rapidly evolving fleet market established him as an industry leader. ​

Burgess has been a chairman and executive board member of the American Red Cross, and most recently was a board member of the Baltimore County Police Foundation. Burgess received his BA in Economics from Washington College and currently resides in Baltimore, MD, with his wife Maggy and their three children Brady, Betty, and Benjy. ​

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Brad Jacobs

Vice President, Strategic Solutions

Brad Jacobs serves as Vice President of Strategic Solutions at Merchants Fleet. In his role he oversees Fleet Consulting, Innovation, Product Development, and PMO.

Joining Merchants in 2012, Jacobs has been an active driver of transformation at Merchants. He has been instrumental in many strategic initiatives and solutions including TotalView, TotalConnect, PowerBI, ClearCharge, and Merchants’ Electrify Fleet program, for which he won a Business Intelligence Group Sustainability Award.

Prior to joining Merchants, Jacobs serviced in various leadership capacities at both Donlen Corporation and Enterprise.

Jacobs received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri and is certified in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School. In his free time, he volunteers with the Boy Scouts and enjoys fishing, boating, and hiking with his family. Originally a Chicago native, Jacobs resides in the Manchester, NH area with his wife and two sons, Ethan and Tyler.

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Marcus Luce

Vice President, Operations

Marcus Luce serves as VP, Operations at Merchants Fleet. An integral part of Merchants Automotive Group since 2002, Luce oversees the Merchants Fleet and Mobility ecosystems in addition to nationwide remarketing efforts. 
  
Having experience in both arms of the organization, Luce served as Director of Logistics Partnership at Merchants Fleet. Here, he worked with various companies to serve the Last Mile space, collaborating on upfitting; identifying and acquiring assets; fleet planning; and consulting. Luce also led a Commercial Sales team, who remarketed commercial vehicles nationwide. He has played a key role in the growth of Merchants Mobility business, helping launch new concepts and business lines, including the commercial vehicle sales program.   
   
Luce has over two decades of experience in the automotive industry and was the General Sales Manager at Merchants Auto in Hooksett, NH. During his tenure, the company won Best Retail Dealership from Dealer Rater, was named Dealer of the Year by Dealer Rater seven years in a row and grew its retail operation from 1,500 units to over 3,000 units a year. Luce received his bachelor’s in marketing and business from Southern New Hampshire University. 

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Steven Curt

Vice President, Operations

Steven Curt serves as Vice President of Operations at Merchants Fleet. In this role, Steven is responsible for the execution and process development of all Onboarding, Account Management, and Client Development.

Having joined Merchants in April of 2012, Steven has previously held the roles of Director of Operations, Director of Client Experience, and Director of Mobility Operations. Through this, Steven has led the management of client relationships, vehicle acquisitions, and overseen the execution of Merchants Mobility offerings.
During his time at Merchants, Steven has developed business reporting, improved the client delivery and registration experience, and was a key contributor in the development of business technologies.

Steven lives in Hooksett, New Hampshire. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on finance from the University of New Hampshire. In 2022, Steven was named to the New Hampshire Union Leader’s Top 40 Under Forty list.

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Kirk Hoffman

Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Kirk Hoffman serves as Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at Merchants Fleet. Joining in June 2023, Hoffman brings more than 20 years of financial industry experience to continue building the momentum of the Merchants brand, redefine fleet industry standards, and serve Merchants’ leading clients.

Throughout his notable career as a financial executive, Hoffman has held leadership positions at some of the most renowned financial institutions in the world. Prior to his role at Merchants, he held the position of Managing Director and Head of Capital Goods and Fleet Coverage at BNP Paribas where he worked alongside Merchants Fleet as a financial partner.

Hoffman received his MBA from Columbia Business School, JD from Fordham University School of Law and BS from Northwestern University. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, hiking, biking and spending time with his family. He resides in Manchester, NH.

Jeanine-Charlton

Jeanine L. Charlton

Senior Vice President & Chief Technology & Digital Officer

Jeanine L. Charlton serves as Senior Vice President & Chief Technology & Digital Officer at Merchants Fleet. She joined the company in June 2018 after serving as a Merchants Fleet board member. Jeanine provides strategic leadership to all Merchants Fleet technology initiatives, to include the innovative and proprietary fleet management software – Merchants TotalView. She is focused on positioning the company for technological advancement and continued growth while creating a culture that celebrates innovation and collaboration.

Jeanine has an extensive Fortune 100 technology leadership background in the automotive, transportation, supply chain & manufacturing industries. She has been on the forefront of IT and business integration by leading the consolidation of manufacturing and technology processes and strategies to create a superior client experience at technology powerhouses DXC Technology, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Over the past 25 years, she has successfully enabled multiple enterprise and government transformations, leveraging technology, services, and people, resulting in improved financial, client, and employee metrics.

Jeanine is an active member of her community, having served on several boards as a technology advisor and contributing time & resources to many community initiatives, including Michigan Women in Technology, Forbes Technology Council, Susan G. Komen, and the Boys & Girls Club of SE Michigan. She has been a mentor in the Menttium Global Leadership Development Program for over 20 years. Jeanine has been named one of the National Diversity Council’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology, a 2020 Chicago CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Award winner, and a 2021 CIO100 winner.

Jeanine received training from Central Michigan University, Arizona State University, Thunderbird School of Business, Columbia University, Harvard University, and Competent Boards. Jeanine lives in New Hampshire with her husband Greg Burke. Jeanine remains active and passionate about health, fitness, and nutrition.

Alicia-Hart

Alicia Hart

Vice President, Human Resources

Alicia serves as Vice President of Human Resources at Merchants Fleet. She joined the company in July 2003. Alicia is focused on providing an award-winning great place to work for the 500+ employees who work at Merchants Fleet. Alicia has spearheaded initiatives in the areas of workforce planning, employee engagement, talent acquisition and development.

Alicia serves as an example of the career growth potential at Merchants Fleet. She started her career at Merchants as Human Resources Administrator and held different positions in the company from 2003 to 2017, until serving in her current role as Vice President with a special focus on talent management.

Under Alicia’s leadership, Merchants Fleet has been frequently named an award-winning place to work both locally and nationally. Merchants Fleet has received Best Company to Work For nods in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Additionally, the company has been Great Place to Work Certified during 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Other awards include Coolest Companies for Young Professionals and CEO Cancer Gold Standard. Alicia has supported an expanding workforce, starting with 180 employees in 2003 to now over 500 employees spread over 20 states and growing. She’s active in the community, supporting initiatives such as Stay Work Play NH, Manchester Area Human Resources Association, and the Society for Human Resource Management. She was honored with a 2021 Outstanding Women in Business Award from NH Business Review and a Human Resources Titan Business Award.

Alicia received her bachelor’s degree from Franklin Pierce College and her MBA from Southern New Hampshire University. She also holds SHRM-SCP and SPHR designations. She lives in the Greater Manchester, New Hampshire area with her family.

Nirmit

Nirmit Agarwala

Vice President of Business Transformation

Nirmit Agarwala joined Merchants Fleet in May 2023 and serves as Vice President of Business Transformation. In his role, Agarwala is the architect of Merchants’ Business Transformation Office, which promotes value-creation through driving efficiency levers. This is accomplished in close partnership with business leaders, evaluating opportunities, and driving execution and change management across the entire organization.​

Prior to joining Merchants, Agarwala served in several positions at Wayfair, with his most recent position as Chief Customer Officer and GM of Incident Management. He also spent time as a Leader in the Operations Practice at McKinsey & Company, advising senior clients across a breath of topics in Strategy and Operations.​

Agarwala received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and his BSE and MSE in Industrial Engineering from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He lives with his wife and two sons in Nashua, NH.​