Operators in your corner, Est. MMXXVI
Fractional COO for Freight-Exposed Businesses

The margin didn't disappear. Freight ate it.

Rates moved and your pricing didn't. Routes got less efficient one exception at a time. Every quarter, freight takes a bigger bite out of a margin you used to keep, not because the business got worse, but because no one has sat down and rebuilt how you plan capacity, route loads, and negotiate with carriers since the volume changed. We do that.

$56B+
Business units led
40+
Combined years of operations
2
Senior operators, not coaches
01
The Problem

The business grew. The systems didn't.

The freight bill looks the same size it's always been. What it's actually buying you keeps shrinking.

01

Rates moved, your pricing didn't.

Freight and fuel costs got renegotiated by your carriers a long time ago. Your customer pricing and your internal margin targets haven't caught up, so every shipment quietly costs you more than it used to.

02

Routing decisions get made by habit, not by data.

Loads go out the way they always have, with whoever's available, not the carrier or route that actually protects margin. Nobody owns the routing decision as a discipline.

03

Capacity planning is reactive, not built ahead of demand.

You find out you're short on capacity when a shipment is already late, not two weeks earlier when there was still time to book ahead or renegotiate.

04

You don't need a rate benchmarking report. You need the system rebuilt.

You already know freight is eating your margin. What's missing is someone who will get into supplier contracts, routing logic, and capacity planning and actually rebuild how it's run.

Not A Fit?

We also work with other industries.

Mariam and Sean, the Headroom Advisors team
Headroom Advisors, Field Notes
02
What We Offer

Four ways to
work together.

We work with a focused number of freight-exposed operators at any given time. Hover over an engagement to reveal the details, then step inside to learn more and apply.

We don't hand you a report and leave. We build the routing logic, carrier strategy, and capacity plan that protects your margin, and stay until it's actually working.
Mariam Laes & Sean Genovese
03
Who We Are

Operators. Not coaches.

We've run P&L, not just advised on it. We've been the person everyone calls when something breaks, at companies with supply chains a lot more complex than most. We bring that same approach to freight-exposed businesses with 8 to 40 employees who've outgrown what got them here.

Mariam Laes, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor at Headroom Advisors

Mariam Laes

Co-Founder & Senior Advisor

Mariam has owned P&L responsibility for a $40M+ aerospace business unit with direct accountability for strategy, customer relationships, supply chain, manufacturing, and engineering. She brings a systems-first lens to operational problems, identifying root causes, restructuring processes, and building organizations that scale without requiring the founder in every room.

Industrial Engineering General Management P&L Ownership Supply Chain USC MBA
Sean Genovese, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor at Headroom Advisors

Sean Genovese

Co-Founder & Senior Advisor

Sean spent nearly 14 years at Boeing leading large-scale organizational change across $56B business units, directing cross-functional teams spanning manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, and IT. He now runs SG Enterprises and teaches engineering management at CSUN. He brings the rare combination of enterprise-scale operational rigor and the grounded instincts of a business owner.

Organizational Change Lean Manufacturing Boeing Alumni Cross-functional Leadership Industrial Engineering
04
Work With Us

Tell us where the
business still runs through you.

We review every inquiry personally. If your problem is a good fit, we will be in touch within 48 hours. No pitch, no pressure, just a direct conversation about whether we can help.

You have 8 or more employees and freight costs are visibly eating into margin you used to keep
Your team is capable, the routing and carrier strategy around them haven't caught up
You're ready to fix the actual problem, not add another piece of software
Presenting in a leadership meeting

Each service also has its own dedicated application on its page, Assessment, Workshop, Project, and Fractional COO. This form is the fastest way to simply start talking. We will not add you to a mailing list.

We've received your note.

Mariam and Sean review every inquiry personally. If it's a fit, expect to hear from us within 48 hours.