President / Age 37
Packer Freight Systems, Inc.
Jake Heim says a mix of grit, gut-checks and great people have influenced his professional life. Among those people who have influenced him is his wife, Angela. “You take bigger swings when someone’s got your back like she does,” Heim says. One of those big swings was co-founding Packer Freight Systems with Terry Albrecht (founder of Packer Fastener) six years ago.
“I left a comfy job [at Schneider] to try something different — from my basement, without a playbook,” says Heim, who began by working for a Chicago-based trucking company that was launching a brokerage. “Four years later, we launched Packer Freight with a clearer vision, but still plenty to learn. Then there are the failures, people I’ve let down or partnerships that didn’t work out. Painful at the time, but they all force growth.”
Packer Freight has now grown to 30 employees, and the venture has been one of his most rewarding accomplishments.
“Our team isn’t just coworkers,” he says. “It’s brothers, cousins, in-laws, friends and friends of friends … together, we’ve created a place where people want to come to work.”
Being a young leader is “more than just running a business,” Heim says. “It’s setting the tone, building strong teams, giving back, creating jobs and innovating.”
Be sure to visit Insight’s Portraits of Success: 40 Under 40 at The Art Garage in Green Bay from May 30–June 1 to see each honoree’s official 40 Under 40 portrait!
