Chris Richards Email & Phone Number

• Developed a comprehensive, one-year strategic plan focused on revenue growth, organizational culture enhancement, and deepening client and community engagement.• Established a robust suite of HR procedures encompassing recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and offboarding, complete with supporting documentation and tools to streamline each stage of the employee lifecycle.• Built foundational processes and documentation to support scalable business growth, including enhanced treatment protocols, inventory management systems, and detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

• Championing the alignment of human capital and resources, adeptly navigating and mitigating risks, and fostering operational excellence and resilience to fuel sustained service growth and expansion within our dynamic and forward-thinking technology service delivery organization.• Scaled the size of the fast-growing Professional Services delivery team by 100%, increasing revenue generation for service delivery by over 70% year-over-year.• Re-aligned service delivery team for increased engagement, collaboration, and operational efficiency, resulting in 6% YoY increase in service margin profitability in project management, cyber security, networking & data centre, and platform project services.• Excelled in talent development, with Team earning over 40 technical professional certifications within 12 months through creating professional development plans and performance management.• Inspired & coached a diverse team of over 50 direct reports and 25 contractors, achieving exceptional service standards and operational excellence.

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

• Managed all aspects of business operations, overseeing 18 hair salons, 2 medical spas, 1 private career college, and the Head Office, including employee satisfaction, workplace culture, customer satisfaction, business objectives, budgeting & forecasting, P&L, and overall financial wellness. • Empowered and mentored senior leadership and operational teams, by providing coaching, collaboration opportunities, and strategic guidance to meet financial and operational goals.• Led human resources and talent management, including recruitment strategies, onboarding, training, professional development, and de-hiring.• Led the company's response throughout the pandemic, navigating the complexity of the known and unknown, ensuring staff and customer safety, while adhering to the provincial health regulations.• Established and chaired a committee to promote advocacy and education of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for an inclusive company culture.• Orchestrated the management of two medical spas, achieving a remarkable 30% year-over-year growth in clinical services. Ensured rigorous adherence to operational medical standards and healthcare regulations for all procedures.• Spearheaded the development and execution of strategic annual fundraising plans, surpassing set goals by securing over $50k in funding. Supported initiatives that directly impacted our employees and customers, fostering a culture of corporate responsibility.• Led the operations, administration, and promotion of the salon industry's largest centralized customer loyalty program in Canada, boasting an extensive membership base of over 250,000.

Dartmouth, Ns, Canada

• Strategically steered the development and execution of comprehensive business development initiatives encompassing marketing, brand strategy, employee training, education, information technology, and salon and spa services. Played a pivotal role in driving business growth and achieving the strategic objectives of the Salon Resource Group, with a specific focus on enhancing salon operations.• Orchestrated the planning and management of budgets for the Marketing, Information Technology, and Employee Training/Education departments. Effectively allocated resources to support key business functions, ensuring optimal performance and alignment with organizational goals.• Nurtured business partnerships and relationships for the company with vendors and distributors.• Led building renovations, new build projects, and re-opening steps for 15 locations and asset management, ensuring contractors met all requirements on budget, in a timely manner, and completed work to satisfaction.• Oversaw the training and development of programs for employees which included building and delivering seminars to teach technical skills, business building skills, and customer service skills.

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

• Utilized technology as a strategic business driver, to grow the business with innovative technology solutions.• Coordinated IT aspects across 23 physical locations, including hardware, software, point of sales software, networking infrastructure, and audio-visual equipment and assets.• Orchestrated the design and oversight of the organization's seven websites, social media platforms, and digital marketing initiatives. Implemented Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies across all sites, resulting in first-page organic search results.

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

My key focus was using technology, websites & social marketing, to help the company and their consultants, to grow salons culture and sales.• Oversaw the development of a web platform for consultants and field staff to evaluate salon businesses performance in a scorecard format which was used by Distributors & field staff all over the United States including L’Oreal USA• Led project to gather requirements, configure, & promote a social media community for the company that gained over 20,000 members, which was a top of funnel entryway to in-person seminars, online courses, and e-commerce store.• Advised & collaborated to complete a needs analysis, before evaluating Learning Management Software (LMS) solutions, leading to choosing the best option, implementing, configuring, and training over 100 users on the SAAS solution.

Halifax, Ns, Canada Area

-Led proactive project planning, and tracking for the implementation of technology-based solutions, including defining processes and procedures.-Coordinated the translation of business problems and requirements into information requirements.-Managed system design and preparation of program specifications for in house developments and interfaces to purchased components for use by programmers/analysts.-Participated in all phases of implementation projects within various Business Units, including testing new versions of software.-Developed business procedures and ensure common business practices are being adhered to across the Province.-Planned, organized and implemented many RHA Helpdesk procedures, from day-to-day to long-term procedures which are currently in use.

Halifax, Ns

• Part of team leading the transition to a web-based CRM & operations SAAS platform (Yardi) for the Nova Scotia Department of Housing. • Led the initial Housing Support Helpdesk, supporting business process & technology for the NS Housing Provincial Government programs and services.• Trained over 300 Nova Scotia Regional Housing employees in various technologies.

Markham, On

-Learned the processes of a huge software development project such as unit, regression, and integration testing, as well as the importance of communication among coworkers-Gained knowledge and working experience with relational databases (RDBMS) and database concepts and design.

Bcssb, Computer Science With Business Specialization

Certificate In Project Management & Leadership