Drew Keever

Co-founder Manifold Software

Drew Keever is co-founder of Manifold Software, which builds software for breakbulk and project-cargo terminals: cost modeling and job pricing, a research desk that reads the public record daily and surfaces only the cargo that fits a specific terminal's berths and modes, and document capture for handwritten tally sheets.

He came to the industry from outside it. His background is data and analytics, across financial services, marketing data, product analytics and software automation. But he grew up around ports - his father spent his career at a public port authority and the port private sector, so ships have been part of his life since childhood. The closest he came to the business himself was an internship at a tugboat company in college.

Manifold began in conversations rather than a business plan. He explored the concept for Manifold by speaking with friends and industry professionals who do this work for a living, and kept hearing the same problems described in the same words. Everything the company has built came out of those conversations. He also believes this matters beyond one company: American logistics must run well for the country to stay competitive, and breakbulk is a real part of that.