Michael Cherney serves as CEO of Cooler Logistics, a relatively new brokerage with just over a year under its belt. With Cooler Logistics being a startup, Cherney's CEO role is a bit different day-to-day than the CEO of an established company. Cherney and his leadership team spend their days strategy planning for the future of the company while also getting into the trenches with their sales and carrier team. A Tuesday afternoon could find Cherney discussing data intent technology possibilities with his CFO or quoting a spot load for a customer, a customer he prospected and onboarded himself. His days are a mix of planning, executing and networking on all levels. Whether it’s dealing with an underperforming employee or addressing a failing strategy, Cherney embraces an empathetic management style to foster a healthy and productive company culture.
To succeed, Cooler needed to differentiate itself from others. That's why, under Cherney's leadership, Cooler freight would not be posted on public load boards for coverage. Working closely with his chief procurement officer, he developed a sourcing philosophy that focused on prospecting and relationship building. While this strategy adds time to the booking process, it also ensures Cooler can adequately vet all the carriers in its network to ensure customer freight is safe. This proactive plan has resulted in 70-plus customers trusting their loads to a fledging brokerage during a down market.
Cherney's main goal for 2025 is to grow the company and keep Cooler off the public load boards while staying employee focused.
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