July 22, 2026

202: Vincent Azzolina: "What Does It Take to Lead in a Zero-Mistake Environment?"

Show Notes

Vince Azzolina shares how his career pivoted from CFO to COO at Myers Wells Service, moving from behind-the-scenes finance to hands-on operational leadership. They discuss incentives, the shift from cost-per-barrel to hourly pay to reduce unsafe driving, and how safety and engagement became core to profitability and retention.

👤 About the Guest

Vince Azzolina is COO of Myers Wells Service, an oil and gas trucking provider headquartered in Western Pennsylvania. He leads financial performance and strategy while overseeing business operations. Previously, he worked at Volvo North America running purchasing for Volvo and Mack in North America.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

Why his CFO-to-COO transition happened in the 2019 timeframe, driven by ownership wanting deeper operational engagement
How rate model changes and a safety bonus program helped reduce speeding and accident severity
What it takes to lead through high-pressure, demanding customer environments and equipment availability challenges
How technology and AI are being explored to ease admin load, improve maintenance, and strengthen safety systems

💡 Key Takeaways

Aligned incentives can drive performance, but they must be designed to avoid unintended safety pressure.
Safety culture is both a values system and an economic strategy through reduced accidents, insurance exposure, and turnover.
In a service business, people are the primary asset, so training, communication, and trust are operational strategies.
AI and new tech are only useful when they remove real operational pain, like Excel-heavy reporting and integration gaps.

❓ Questions That Mattered

How do you grow as a leader when you shift from CFO comfort with data to COO needs for trust and delegation?
What incentive design reduces unsafe behavior without undermining delivery performance?
Is safety truly more profitable, and where does the economics show up beyond lawsuits and insurance?
What does “predictive” safety look like when human factors like fatigue are involved?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

"There are a lot of things that aren't our fault but are still our responsibility."
"If you're a safe company, you're a profitable company."
"Our people are our asset."
"I've become a big believer in engagement and being present."
"I don't need to be meddling in this. I trust them."
"I would love to look back three years from now and say we figured out how to use AI to make our people's lives easier."
"We want people to retire here."
"Safety is the first topic of discussion with every customer and the first topic of discussion inside our company."

🔗 Links & Resources