Building for the Next 100 Years: How Employee Ownership is Shaping Union Leasing’s Future

By Todd Heemsoth, Division President of Automotive, Sasser Inc.

Originally published by Fleet Management Weekly.

When I joined Union Leasing in 2017, I didn’t set out to just run another fleet management company. I joined a team that believed in doing things differently, in building a business that lasts.

That belief runs deep here because we’re part of Sasser Inc., a business that’s been around for nearly a century. When the Sasser family decided to transition to an employee-owned structure, the message from our chairman, Fred Sasser, was simple yet powerful: We’ve built this business over the last 100 years, and now it’s time to build it for the next 100.

That long-term mindset is what makes us unique from others in the fleet industry today.

The Difference Employee Ownership Makes

We’re proud to be an ESOP, an employee-owned company. In an industry where private equity ownership has become increasingly common, that makes us stand out in meaningful ways.

Many organizations in our industry operate under different ownership, including private equity.  For us, being employee-owned means our focus is on the long view. We’re not trying to cut costs to hit a quarterly target. We’re building a company that our employee-owners can be proud of. One that will serve customers and their companies for decades to come.

When employees have an interest in the ownership of the equity, a shift happens. There’s a shared sense of accountability. We care about what happens to our customers because their success directly impacts ours. Studies show that employee-owned companies perform better, and it’s not hard to understand why. When people have a stake in the outcome, they think and act like owners.

That mindset is visible here every day. Whether it’s a member of our customer experience team finding a creative solution for a client, or one of our account managers spotting an opportunity to make a fleet more efficient, they’re doing it because they own a piece of this success story.

Culture Is Our Competitive Advantage

I’ve spent my career around technology, entrepreneurship, and business growth. I’ve seen what happens when culture gets sacrificed in the name of scale. Once it’s gone, it’s hard to get back. That’s why we protect our culture.

At Union, people genuinely like working together. We’ve built a workplace that encourages collaboration, celebrates milestones, and includes everyone. We’ve been certified as a Great Place to Work and ranked sixth on Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Chicago. Those awards aren’t run by us; they are based on third-party surveys filled out anonymously by employees. We take that feedback seriously and use it to make improvements where we can.

We still hold company picnics, fly spouses to our holiday parties, and support one another in moments big and small. Those may sound like small things, but they’re part of what makes this place different.

Our average employee tenure of 8 years is something we’re proud of too — it’s proof that people want to stay here, grow here, and help us build something lasting.

At Union, “we” matters more than “I.” We empower our teams to make decisions without having to navigate layers of bureaucracy. When a customer calls, they’re not sent into a phone tree or bounced between departments. They talk to real people who know their fleet, understand their business, and can make things happen.

We take pride in delivering concierge-level service. It’s not a slogan, it’s how we operate. Clients have a direct point of contact. They can call, text, or email, and they’ll reach someone who’s accountable and empowered to help. That kind of responsiveness builds trust — and in our industry, trust is everything.

Our Net Promoter Score, consistently in the mid to upper 60s, reflects that. Net Promoter Scores are based on how likely customers are to recommend a company to a friend or colleague. Our high scores are validation from customers that what we’re doing works.

Investing in the Future

As we look toward 2026 and beyond, we will continue to invest heavily. That doesn’t mean we’re moving away from our personal approach. In fact, it’s the opposite. We’re enhancing it. The future of fleet management is a blend of digital convenience and human interaction, and we’re building both. We have some big initiatives planned for 2026 and beyond.

At the end of the day, being an employee-owned company benefits our clients. Because when you work with Union Leasing, you’re partnering with a company where every person you interact with has a real stake in your success.

We’re not just managing vehicles; we’re helping businesses reach their goals. As employee-owners, we’re doing it with pride, care, and a long view in mind.

We’re not playing for the next quarter. We’re building for the next century.