Participate Don’t Spectate: Interview with Brendan Keegan, CEO of Merchants Fleet
I recently went one-on-one with Brendan Keegan. Brendan is the Chairman, CEO, and President of Merchants Fleet, and also serves as a co-owner and board member of United Autosports, Andretti Racing Extreme E, Sky Meadow Country Club, Revolution Armor, and ExpressIT Delivery.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here?
Brendan: As with most entrepreneurs and business leaders there has not been a straight career route that I have followed. I have changed paths, and my journey has led me in directions I did not always expect.
As I look back one thing that has been vital is having the courage to fail and the faith to succeed. It’s something I try to share with others and is the key mantra of my bFearless platform, which aims to empower the leaders of tomorrow.
Something that will always lead to success is hard work, you need to be dedicated and willing to put in the hours.
I have constantly challenged myself and took risks. I bet on myself and sometimes those bets pay off but sometimes they don’t. You have to be prepared to fail and not have fear of this in order to succeed.
You also cannot underestimate the power of good mentors; throughout my career, I have been fortunate to have been guided by some incredible people.
I also have focused on building my network and meet people who can challenge and push me to higher levels.
I have taken on assignments in roles from engineering to operations to events and sales. I have also worked across the spectrum of start-ups, mid-cap companies, and Fortune 500. And through it all I came to the crystal-clear conclusion that my passion lie in two areas - executive leadership with the ability to impact many and in the field of technology, with its fast pace and constantly evolving nature.
I started working with Merchants Fleet originally as a client and later as a board member and strategic advisor, where I provided valuable insights to the company on building a growth company. I spotted the potential for market disruption, which eventually led to an offer to take over as CEO.
Since then, Merchants became the fastest-growing fleet management company in North America. I led Merchants to a successful strategic sale to Bain Capital and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). Now, as Chairman, CEO & President, I hope to continue to disrupt the commercial fleet landscape, fueling business transformation and driving enterprise value to fleets across the United States.
Adam: What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Brendan: As an ambitious person by nature, I am always wanting to strive for more and push myself forward. However, sometimes it is best to really hone your craft before rushing ahead. During my career, there were times I was promoted before I was really ready and although at the time this seemed like a positive, looking back it was a steep learning curve that presented challenges to my growth.
Mentors have been key during my career, and I hope I have acted as a mentor to others. Mentors have made me believe in myself, giving me the confidence to achieve more.
They saw skills in me that I didn't see in myself. I knew I had some good skills, like being a good communicator. But my mentor had a more objective, external view of who I was and what I could do. He helped me see that one of my biggest strengths was the ability to fix things. He pointed out that I could take all the fear, uncertainty, and doubt people had and trade it for a healthy dose of confidence. Once I saw that skill with better clarity, I could embrace and lean into it even more. I decided that if it was something I did well that made a difference, I'd build my entire brand around it authentically and apply it to my work every day.
Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?
Brendan: Everyone can have great ideas, business acumen, leadership skills, etc. but you must have a clear vision to ensure you can implement these.
You need to define your values and who you are and what you represent as a business.
Future leaders will build your business and create stability and productivity within the team. It is important to work to build a leadership foundation.
As you create a clear vision you need to ensure you create a culture that matches this.
Any business needs to be built on good people, so hiring the right staff is vital.
In my book, The FUD Factor: Overcoming Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt to Achieve the Impossible, I draw on lessons learned along my own Fearless Leadership journey. I lay out the strategy and the qualities of Fearless Leadership, providing a clear path for aspiring and seasoned leaders to follow, a path that will empower them to achieve the impossible.
I am also working on a new book, set to launch this fall, which will identify 8 pillars of transformation for a business.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Brendan: Having a clear vision and then creating a brand around this. You need to have excellent communication skills so you can share this vision and brand with the wider team, if this is effective they will automatically become aligned with you and the goals of the business.
Businesses are built on relationships and good leaders need to inspire others to become the best version of themselves.
These factors allow the leader to wield influence, they are relatable and respected, and ultimately this increases productivity.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Brendan: Listen and Learn. Listening is integral to growing and developing and lifelong learning is the only way to stay at the top of your game.
Listening is not easy until you work hard to break the barrier of going from a passive listener to an active listener. An active listener is watching for what is being said, and what is not. How things are being said, and how they are being received. Active listeners are listening in the meeting and probing post-meeting. Great listeners have the ability to bridge divides, lead collaborations, and have the emotional intelligence to know what and how to communicate.
Learning on the other hand is very easy, but for some odd reason, many leaders get to a certain point in their career and stop signing up for training, don’t enroll in academic courses, or attend conferences more for the networking than the learning. We live in a fast-paced world that is constantly changing - regulatory, technical, political - and to take our leadership to the next level we have to continually be learning from new technologies like artificial intelligence, AI, to new ways of leading like remote and hybrid workforces.
If you commit to a lifetime of active listening and continuous learning, then you will certainly take your leadership to the next level.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Brendan:
Have the courage to fail and the faith to succeed.
Leadership is a daily decision and leadership enables lifelong freedom.
Take care of your people and clients and the business will take care of itself
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Brendan: Vision, Trust, Believe and Being Good. Set the vision for the team. Trust your team to do the right things. And believe you will achieve your vision, especially when you have challenges and obstacles.
You have built a good team, you have set the path, you have aligned your vision and goals, you have delegated responsibilities - now it’s simply time to trust the process.
When you think about leadership, it’s easy to get caught up in all the formal stuff like authority, decision-making, and influence. But let me tell you a little secret: being a truly great leader starts with one simple thing—being a good person. Personal integrity is the key ingredient for rocking your leadership game. By being honest, caring, accountable, and continuously improving yourself, you’ll build trust, inspire your team, and make a real difference.
Integrity is crucial. When you show unwavering integrity, people trust and respect you. They know they can count on you, and that authenticity creates an awesome work environment.
Leaders who are upfront and honest create a culture where people can be real and open. Sharing information, admitting mistakes, and having transparent communication builds trust.
True leaders don’t run from their mistakes – they own up to them! When you take responsibility for your actions and decisions, you inspire others to do the same. That creates a culture of ownership, productivity, and innovation. Plus, being accountable builds trust and shows you walk the talk.
Exceptional leaders are always on the lookout for ways to improve themselves. Keep learning, evolving, and developing your skills, and you’ll be ready to tackle any challenge like a boss.
Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?
Brendan: Alignment. Start with a strong vision for your company, establish your marketing strategy to fuel your vision, develop your brand to communicate your vision, and train your sales team to execute and grow your vision. Alignment is the key to disruptive and successful growth.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Brendan: Volunteer! When you come across any opportunity to work on a special project, work with a new group of people, do something extra, raise your hand, and say yes before you even know what the assignment is. Participate don’t spectate, life is a contact sport, so volunteer and go make some contact!
Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.
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