Workplace burnout logistics, nervous system regulation, team purpose, women in leader

Beatriz Alvarado walked into her first job interview in project logistics and was told she would not be able to do the work. The reason given was that the job required going on board vessels and talking to captains. She was 25. She asked why that would be a problem. The interviewer said the company always preferred a man for that role.

"I was so angry," said Alvarado, sales and chartering director at Kaleido Ideas and Logistics. "I started shouting at the man during the interview, who was my boss after that."

She got the job. She has been in the industry for 25 years.

That story set the tone for a conversation at a Women in Breakbulk panel hosted by The Heavy Lift Group at Breakbulk Europe about what it actually takes to build a career in project cargo. The panelists had come from engineering, law, psychology, travel agencies and civil engineering. None of them arrived with a logistics qualification. All of them figured it out.

Sanjna Vardhan, assistant vice president at Procam Group, described a pitch meeting three weeks before the panel where a potential client assumed she would not have much to say. He did not offer her a meeting room. He told his assistant the conversation would be over in two minutes.

"The first thing he said was, can I meet some people in your operations team? Can you introduce me to your seniors?" she said. "I said, can I try answering your questions?"

The meeting ran for one hour and 10 minutes. She is closing her first contract with him.

Competence is still the most reliable tool available. And the way to build it is to ask questions, go to the sites, ride with the truck drivers and never assume you already know enough.

"If you are competent and can answer the question, it is no issue about gender," said Iris Müllejans, managing director of Rolf Riedl GmbH. "Always ask questions. You can learn so much from the people around you."

Müllejans described how she approached entering the indusyry by going hands-on from the start. She learned to order cranes, went to project sites, drove an SPMT, flew in an Antonov cargo aircraft and rode with truck drivers to understand the work from the ground up.

"Ask this question and train yourself," she said. "I ask my guys everything. I want to understand what is the bending of the beam, why is the trailer necessary."

When the panel was asked what qualities a young person needs to succeed in project cargo, the answers converged on a few things. Determination was the first. The work will tell you something cannot be done and your job is to find the way it can.

"In project cargo logistics, when a first request lands on your desk, there is always a reaction, like how impossible it is," said Elisabeth Cosmatos, CEO of The Cosmatos Group. "But there is always a way. This piece will be transported. For us, it is just to make sure that we find the way to do it."

Curiosity was the second. Marianne Blechingberg, managing director of Oy Hacklin Logistics Ltd, encouraged younger professionals to go to their managers and ask to join trips and conferences rather than waiting to be invited.

"You need to be active yourself," she said. "Say to your manager, I want to join you on that trip. I want to join you at the conference."

And communication, particularly across cultures. With supply chains spanning dozens of countries and partners who work very differently from one another, the ability to understand and adapt to different ways of doing business is not a soft skill. It is a practical one.

"Going international and having the passion to understand different cultures helps a lot," said Miriam Nagel, business development manager at DEUFOL DÖHLE PROJECTS.

None of it requires arriving with the right background. It requires showing up ready to learn.

About This Series

This article was developed from a workshop hosted by the Women in Breakbulk Lounge during Breakbulk Europe.

Title: Next Generation Project Cargo: Mentorship and Future Readiness Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2026 Location: Women in Breakbulk Lounge, Breakbulk Europe, Rotterdam Ahoy Panelists: Beatriz Alvarado, Sales and Chartering Director, Kaleido Ideas and Logistics / Elisabeth Cosmatos, CEO, The Cosmatos Group / Ilse Rodewijk, CEO, AlbatrosDigital / Iris Müllejans, Managing Director, Rolf Riedl GmbH / Marianne Blechingberg, Managing Director, Oy Hacklin Logistics Ltd / Miriam Nagel, Business Development Manager, DEUFOL DÖHLE PROJECTS GMBH / Rosy Malave, Founder and Commercial Director, Nakama Worldwide Solutions / Sanjna Vardhan, Assistant Vice President, Procam Group Association: The Heavy Lift Group (THLG) Session URL: https://europe.breakbulk.com/agendas/event-agenda/next-generation-project-cargo-mentorship-and

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