With a career journey shaped by both hands-on experience and a structured approach to professional development, Rob Hallett has navigated a dynamic career path from Professional Services at AssetWorks to his current role as Group Manager at Volaris Group. His leadership philosophy is deeply influenced by Volaris’ emphasis on peer learning and professional growth, allowing him to collaborate across disciplines such as R&D, Product Management, and Sales & Marketing.

As General Manager of AssetWorks Fleet, Rob spearheaded a transformative Initiative Competition, fostering cross-functional collaborations that led to the successful launch of five new products and sustained double-digit growth. His mentorship was instrumental in developing the next generation of leaders within the company, reinforcing a culture of customer-centric innovation.

During his tenure, Rob navigated AssetWorks Fleet through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring business continuity, retaining top talent, and pivoting to a virtual engagement model with customers. Now, as a Group Manager at Volaris, Rob’s focus is on expanding the Asset/Fleet Management Portfolio, fostering collaboration among leaders, and ensuring a seamless integration process for newly acquired businesses. His expertise in talent retention, post-acquisition strategy, and operational alignment continues to shape high-growth software companies within the Volaris ecosystem.

Rob recently sat down with Acquired Knowledge to reflect on his career trajectory, the importance of collaboration, and the role of succession planning in ensuring the long-term stability of any business.

How has your approach evolved from managing teams at AssetWorks to your current role as Group Manager at Volaris Group?

As I progressed through the company, my approach evolved from focusing on the day-to-day execution in the business to one of focusing on the business. By that I mean focusing on strategies to improve internal processes and the customer journey, leadership bench-strength and organizational capacity – all of which translated into more profitable growth and customer and employee retention. In my role as Group Manager, I try to apply this same approach in an advisory role. I share my experiences of what has and has not worked.

The two things about Volaris that inspired my approach most were the focus on opportunities for professional growth and the peer network that grew as Volaris acquired more companies. I benefited personally from this by learning from industry experts and peers on how to shift my thinking to stay out of the whirlwind and to focus on the longer term improvements.

All of the opportunities would not have been possible without the structured approach Volaris provides for future leaders. Additionally, I benefited from sharing best practices I learned over the years. It is an amazing thing to have access to hundreds of people in a similar role as you for ideas and support.

Can you share a moment when a strategic choice significantly influenced the growth of AssetWorks Fleet?

AssetWorks has always been an innovative leader in the market; however, there came a point where innovation was stalling and growth was impacted. As GM, I took a concept from the early days of Volaris and implemented an annual Initiative Competition wherein teams within AssetWorks prepared business cases for new product ideas based on customer needs.

This program resulted in the launch of five new products helping drive double-digit growth. The process also developed a new generation of leaders that understand the importance of being close with customers to help solve their challenges.

What do you consider the most rewarding achievement during your time at AssetWorks Fleet?

Building an incredibly talented team of leaders is what I consider the most rewarding part of my role as GM. When I was promoted to take the lead of AssetWorks, we restructured the leadership team at the same time. Just as the new structure was settling into place, Covid-19 changed the world dramatically.

Together we successfully navigated our way through uncharted waters. We were able to avoid staff reductions, pivot to a virtual work environment, and connect with customers through a virtual AssetWorks Academy. We accomplished this all while continuing to innovate so that we were ready when the world returned to some semblance of business as usual.

You’ve led teams across multiple functions, including R&D, product management, and customer care. How did you ensure alignment across these diverse areas?

Communication and shared sense of purpose based on the needs of the customer are the keys to leading multiple teams. You need shared mission, values and cascading goals through the organization to make sure everyone is headed in the same direction. At AssetWorks we continually updated our strategic plan, ensured that objectives and key results were tracked, and communicated regularly with the organization and that eveyone’s scorecard tracked to these goals.

What strategies do you think are most important to ensure the seamless integration of new acquisitions into the Volaris ecosystem?

It all starts with thorough due diligence so that we have a complete understanding of a new business. We develop our strategy for integration from our learnings during diligence. From this, we prepare internally and coordinate resources with the new company to address the “Day 1” tasks of integration. We do this to limit the disruption to the business and ease any concerns about the transition. In addition, introducing the leadership team to the operating metrics and Volaris principles early is critical to building strategic plans for growth and profitability.

For software company CEOs or GMs considering an acquisition, what advice would you offer to ensure a successful transition and growth post-acquisition?

I like to highlight that Volaris consists of over 200 software companies that all function independently but share in best practices and leverage a network of peers. My advice is to have an open mind to adopt proven strategies to grow the business and be open to learning from others’ mistakes and successes.

What are your best practices for retaining top talent and building a culture of collaboration?

The approach that worked best for me is to understand what motivates each individual and where they want their career to go. Once you understand that, you can build plans together that provide opportunities in those areas. I also believe it is important to push people’s limits and get them outside of their comfort zones to truly grow.

How did you celebrate and recognize individual contributions and team accomplishments within your team when leading AssetWorks Fleet?

Over the years we’ve recognized individual and team accomplishments publicly by posting in the company-wide newsfeed on OurVolaris, including articles in the employee newsletter, hosting celebration dinners/happy hours and privately by paying spot bonuses.

What are your top priorities as a Group Manager at Volaris Group for the next 2-3 years?

My priorities are to grow the Group into an Asset/Fleet Management Portfolio wherein the leaders of these businesses can share not only in best practices for software companies, but also market expertise in Asset and Fleet Management.

What’s your go-to way to recharge after a busy week at work?

After a busy week I enjoy spending time with my wife Christine and going to local restaurants, concerts, or events with our close group of friends.