Baron Oursler Is a Steady Hand at FleetPride

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By the time you read this profile, Baron Oursler’s two sons will be in the world. Scheduling time with the SVP, general counsel, and secretary at FleetPride required a bit of finagling. The week of his interview with Modern Counsel, Oursler’s wife went into the hospital on bed rest, trying to delay the premature birth of their twins for as long as possible.

The Steady Hand

At the same time, Oursler was taking care of their other two children, one of whom had to visit the emergency room. All the while, he was on standby, expecting a call to rush to the hospital for the arrival of the twins.

Most people would have postponed the interview. Oursler did not. He jokes that he may be slightly annoying to his wife in calmer times, but in a crisis Oursler comes alive. With sheepish pride, he shares that his wife told him she’d never been more impressed with his ability to take care of his family than this past week.

“That meant a lot to me,” Oursler says upon reflection. “In moments when it would be easy for panic to take hold or to give up, something in me gets calm and focused and I just power through. Make no mistake, at the onset I feel panic just like the best of them, but another feeling and focus inevitably takes over.”

Oursler grew up in what he describes as “a loving home that was a bit turbulent at times.” The baby of the family with four older sisters and whose parents were separated, he smiles as he recalls, “Let’s just say that there was a lot going on.”

“And growing up that way got me used to noise,” Oursler adds. “I was a bit of a child of chaos, and I learned to find clarity in it and thrive.”

Right to Repair

That doesn’t mean Oursler is a fireball or loose cannon. Quite the opposite. He is steady, dependable, and pragmatic.

Beyond his primary function and responsibilities as head of legal affairs, the SVP has spent the last year and change making regular visits to Capitol Hill and working with members of Congress and other stakeholders on federal right to repair legislation. This legislation would require vehicle manufacturers to provide to the owner or their designee the data for diagnostics, repair, and service. It would preserve access to high quality, affordable vehicle repair by ensuring that vehicle owners and their repairer of choice have equal access to repair and maintenance tools, components, and data.

“During these hyperpartisan times, it’s encouraging and refreshing to see so many Republicans and Democrats come together to support a practical and commonsense solution,” Oursler says of the legislation. “We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress on the issue and look forward to pushing this important piece of legislation across the finish line.

“And I would be remiss if I didn’t say how extremely grateful I am for Congressman Neal Dunn [R-FL], for his leadership in introducing and championing H.R. 906, known more colloquially as the REPAIR Act, the 56 Members of Congress who joined as cosponsors, including Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez [D-WA], as well as Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers [R-WA], who as chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee for the US House of Representatives helped shepherd this legislation at the Committee level in the months leading up to her retirement.

“I can’t thank those folks and their staff enough for keeping attention on this issue, which will help protect America’s supply chain, speed up vehicle repair times, and bring down prices at a time when people need that relief,” Oursler says.

The Right Mentor

Oursler tends to speak highly of others before speaking of himself, offering, “There’s a Bob Proctor quote I love: ‘A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.’ I would not be where I am today were it not for a number of folks who stepped into my life at various points, inflection points one could say, and offered me the gift of their mentorship.”

One of the people who helped make him who he is, the late Richard G. Munzinger, was a trial lawyer at ScottHulse, the firm where Oursler had the privilege of beginning his career. A man who Oursler recalls now Supreme Court of Texas Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht characterizing as “erudite”, Munzinger’s endless fascination for his chosen profession and his dedication to learning left a lasting impression on Oursler.

“There’s a moment that has stuck with me,” Oursler says. “We had a client in an antitrust case, and we went to learn about the relevant market and how the product at issue was made. We pull up to this plant in West Texas, and Mr. Munzinger is smiling ear to ear. He looks at me and says, ‘Can you believe they pay us to do this?’ But that was Mr. Munzinger, a zealous advocate and lover of learning. That’s stayed with me all these years.”

Munzinger comes up a lot with Oursler. He only worked under the late attorney for three years and was one of many lawyers mentored by him, but it clearly made an enduring impact. “Mr. Munzinger challenged me to achieve excellence in my undertakings, both professionally and personally, stressing the importance of one’s dedication to career and family,” Oursler recalls.

Another person who helped shape Oursler as he transitioned into the role of general counsel of a large company is US District Judge Karen Gren Scholer of the Northern District of Texas.

“I had the privilege of working alongside Judge Scholer in years prior to her becoming a federal judge. She was never more than a phone call away and always happy to talk through an issue, helping refine my thinking around potential courses of action and any immediate and longer-term ramifications,” Oursler says. “It was an iterative process that helped me grow. Fast forward to her investiture, and the thing that struck me was that, of the hundreds of people in attendance, many—and I mean many—shared similar experiences of her mentorship over the years.” 

He adds, “What I have found to be common among the likes of mentors such as Judge Scholer and Mr. Munzinger is that beyond their own dedication to excellence in their careers and families, there exists an unyielding and selfless commitment to the betterment of those around them.”  

Despite the influence of peers and the organization’s stakeholders, Oursler dismisses any comparison of himself to these individuals whom he holds in such high regard. But it remains clear that he seeks to impart his own experiences upon those in his orbit, hoping they too may benefit from the lessons he’s learned—or at least get a laugh from a self-deprecating anecdote.

“I would not be where I am today were it not for a number of folks who stepped into my life at various points, inflection points one could say, and offered me the gift of their mentorship.”

Baron T. Oursler

Munzinger instilled a commitment to learning in Oursler and an appreciation that the pursuit of knowledge must be unrelenting and is every bit of a lifelong journey. Maybe that’s why Oursler’s purview has run so wide, including commercial transactions, IP, real estate, M&A, labor and employment, immigration, litigation, risk mitigation, competition and antitrust, trade and customs, and compliance matters.

That sheer variety is what Oursler loves about his role with the nation’s largest independent distributor of aftermarket commercial truck parts and service, FleetPride. With an internal legal team comprising himself and a highly skilled and tenured paralegal, the SVP never knows what kind of matter he’ll be handling next—and that’s just how he likes it.

There are a lot of people, too many to mention, in Oursler’s life whom he cites as life-changing and to whom he attributes his accomplishments and success. But at the moment, Oursler isn’t focused on much else than welcoming his two new sons to the world.

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