Operators in your corner, Est. MMXXVI
Fractional COO for Manufacturing & Distribution

Volume went up. Throughput didn't keep pace.

Every rush order gets expedited by hand. Every quality escape gets caught after it ships, not before. Not because your floor can't run faster. Because the scheduling, handoff, and quality systems were built for the volume you had two years ago, not the volume you have now. We rebuild them for where the business is going.

$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 plant is busier than it's ever been. The systems that used to keep it running smoothly weren't built for this much volume.

01

You're still the escalation point.

A machine goes down, a supplier misses a date, a customer order changes scope. It all lands on your desk because no one below you has the authority or the playbook to resolve it.

02

Handoffs between shifts and departments leak information.

What happened on second shift doesn't reliably make it to first. Quality issues get caught downstream instead of at the source, because there's no standard way to flag and pass along what went wrong.

03

Throughput stalls every time volume climbs.

You can run at last year's pace without much strain. Push past it and the wheels start to come off, because the scheduling and workflow were never redesigned for the volume you're at now.

04

You don't need a consultant's report. You need the floor rebuilt.

You already know where the bottlenecks are. What's missing is someone who will get onto the floor, into the scheduling system, and into supplier terms and actually fix it.

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 manufacturing and distribution 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 system that gets escalations resolved on the floor, catches quality issues before they ship, and gets you out of the day to day, without losing control of the business.
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 a lot more moving parts than a single plant. We bring that same approach to manufacturers and distributors 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 you're still the one resolving escalations, scheduling conflicts, or supplier issues
Your floor is capable, the systems 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.