Sabbatical

Working on my doctoral dissertation and spending more time with my wife and kids

Sabbatical break to work on my doctoral dissertation

ShareBuilder 401k

•	Led Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Product, Finance, HR, Accounting, IT Infrastructure, & Facilities

•	Crafted a $200M acquisition of a competitor that has generated more than $25 million in profit

•	Drove M&A event from Capital One with an on-time closing, final price 50% under budget, & $3M in year 1 profit

•	Achieved more than 4X EBITDA/Net Income goal for fiscal 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023

•	Grew assets at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 35%

•	Piloted sales increases of more than 20% annually

•	Created a customer success organization that saw FinTech SaaS renewals at a 99% rate

•	Constructed handbooks, manuals, & plan documents in house saving over $2 million at startup

•	Vetted & contracted all vendors (Insurance, HRIS, Payroll, VPN, Security, Salesforce, Five9, Jira, Meraki, etc.)

•	Oversaw modernization of all technological systems savings of more than $3 million annually while leading to greater efficiency, risk mitigation, & business continuity

•	Distilled brand partnership efforts to concentrate on affinity, ISV, strategic, and influencer efforts to dive a 12% increase in partner leads and 12 new national partner agreements

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Capital One

•	Collaborated with 8 Director teams across 6 sites to create the rhythm of the business (ROB), resulting in improved execution alignment for 850+ associate stakeholders including Sales, Presales, Sales Operations, Partners, Marketing, Services, & Customer Success, 52% Y/Y pipeline growth, & an 11% reduction in account whitespace within 9 months

•	Directed cross-functional teams, bringing together small & mid-size (SMB) business customer data, expanding whitespace customer interaction opportunities by 30%, & driving an increase in SMB product penetration by 23%

•	Public relations media spokesperson for radio, TV, & events (SXSW, GROWCO, Dreamforce, etc.)

•	Grew revenue by 32% compounded annual growth rates (CAGR) over 8 consecutive years

•	Increased assets under management (AUM) by 35% CAGR over 8 consecutive years

•	Boosted customer acquisition by 18% CAGR over 8 consecutive years

Vice President, Business Strategy, Acquisition & Retention

•	Saved over $100M in annual spending by moving Capital One from 26 instances of Salesforce to 2 (Business & Consumer) while also increasing whitespace business customer opportunities by 47%

•	Mentored startup founders on business fundamentals, financial discipline, & the FinTech landscape as an advisor in Capital One Lab’s startup accelerator. Three advised companies generated $300 million in profit for COF

•	Delivered on aggressive sales growth of $500M & $750M Y/Y

Senior Director, Business Development & Retention

•	Led a cross-functional cohort to craft Capital One's first diversity, inclusion, & belonging mission (later DE&I)

•	Expanded external sales team to 6 regions capturing $1.5B in mid-market and enterprise accounts over 3 years resulting in $10M in new recurring annual revenue

•	Initiated business banking referral program including crafting all messaging, training, & program details to increase customer whitespace opportunities by 78%

Director, Sales & Customer Services

•	Pushed external sales team to 3 regions & captured $180M in new SMB & enterprise sales in the first 12 months
 
•	Began managing call center customer service teams, quickly solving customer issues & driving an increase in Net Promoter Score (NPS) from +11 to +42 over 12 months

•	Created a Fee Fighters superhero campaign (piggybacking on the superhero movie craze) where employers & employees could receive social badges by uploading newly legislated fee disclosure documents increasing upmarket leads by 29

Senior Manager, Sales & Customer Service

•	Initiated & led a multi-year partnership with Costco resulting in a 57% annual increase in sales

•	Established external sales role to push "upmarket” resulting in the company's first $1M, $2M, $5M, & $10M sales

•	Segmented sales roles by customer type & associate experience creating 5 sales roles & 8 customer archetypes resulting in sales gains of 13% Y/Y & increased revenue of 26%

•	Led partnership acquisition strategy (affiliate, affinity, cross-marketing, distribution, influencer, ISV, strategic, referral, & white label) resulting in 47 agreements in the first 12 months and a 27% increase in qualified leads

•	Launched a reseller program, collaborating with external firms as authorized resellers to increase product reach resulting in a sales boost of 19%

Senior Manager, Sales & Marketing

•	Refined sales process & technique to increase sales by 234% in 12 months

•	Crafted dynamic customer journeys resulting in a 94% conversion increase & a 56% gain in sales Y/Y

•	Reformed product marketing messaging & voice driving a 187% increase in leads, 119% increase in opportunity creation, & a 62% increase in sales Y/Y

Manager, Sales & Marketing

AutoNation

•	Built, optimized, & refined sales processes & engagement framework for internet sales departments across multiple regions & then nationwide, reducing engagement time from days to minutes, resulting in sales increases of 387%

•	Designed & deployed Microsoft Dynamics, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), increasing revenue by 7% & earnings by 15%

•	Led product team that evaluated paper processes for digitization, eliminated $30M in annual spending, & increased on-time financial EOM close by 26%

•	Developed positioning, messaging, & campaign materials to propel AutoNation's $21 billion revenue, including messaging, pitch decks, creative, & datasheets.

Director, Sales Process & Operations

Younger Kitchens

Founder/Owner

People Leader | COO | CRO | CEO | Creating Efficiency | Accelerating Growth & Revenue | Satisfying Customers | Change Management | GTM Strategy | Fintech | Capital One | ING | AutoNation | Founder

An inclusive hands-on executive focused on finding talented people, optimizing processes, and disrupting markets with winning strategies. This is an approach that has equaled 20 years of explosive sales growth, brand-loving customers, and huge increases in revenue and earnings. Always examining challenges with a creative entrepreneurial approach while also applying business fundamentals through a rigorous financial lens. Utilizing Organizational Change and Leadership expertise acquired through doctoral studies at the University of Southern California to achieve impactful and lasting change!

Known for:

✓ Ability to Get Things Done
    • Always Meeting Deadlines & Quota
    • Providing Targeted Problem-Solving
    • Influencing Cross-Functionally Throughout Organizations

✓ Leading Initiatives that Spark Significant Gains in: 
    • Efficiency
    • Productivity
    • Operational Effectiveness

✓ Leveraging Interpersonal Acumen & Superior Communications Skills to Establish Relationships of Trust that Drive Growth & Exceed Objectives

✓ Bringing Extensive Enterprise SaaS sales, Go-To-Market, Product Marketing, Business Development, Customer Success, Finance, Accounting, & Partnering Expertise to Ignite Transformational Growth

✓ Being an Intellectually Curious Problem-Solver who is Successful in Identifying & Overcoming Business Obstacles

✓ Creating Diverse & Inclusive Cross-Functional Cultures that Empower and Instill a Shared Vision – Aligned with Aggressive Business Objectives & Goals

✓ Managing by the Numbers by Directing the Creation of Ambitions, Concrete, & Aligned OKRs/KPIs to Create Action-Oriented Achievement

✓ Being an Excited Father, Dedicated Husband, Early Adopting Technology Enthusiast, Sports Junkie, Whiskey Connoisseur, Indulgent Epicurean, & Flawed, but Ever-Evolving Man

Specialties: Revenue Growth | Strategy | Profit Optimization | Go-To-Market Leadership | Technology Solution Innovation | Account Management | Growth Strategy | Major Project Management | Sales and Marketing | B2B | B2C | Multichannel | Executive Vision | Organizational Development | Business Turnaround | Customer Acquisition | Customer Retention | Operations | Operational Excellence | P&L | Strategic Planning | Tactical Execution | Digital Transformation | Global Go-to-Market Planning | GTM Leadership | Continuous Improvement | Customer Success Management | Process Engineering | Digital Channels | Brand Strategy | Team Building | Analytics | Business Development | Client Relations

Robert Younger

Veronica Llorca-Smith 🍋

Want to find a speaker for your next leadership event?

I design customized keynotes and workshops to motivate and build high-performing teams and help develop new leadership skills.

Blending my 20-year corporate experience (Apple, Estée Lauder), my personal experience living in 9 countries and my journey as an amateur triathlete, I create engaging sessions that bring both inspiration and actionable frameworks. 

Topics:

Inclusive leadership
Unconscious Bias
Cultural Agility
Inclusive Language
Allyship

Growth Mindset: 
An Athlete's Mindset
Becoming Your Best Ambassador

Previous clients: UBS, AIA, ManpowerGroup, BioRad, Native Union, UK Cabinet, Michael Page, DASH...

Motivational Speaker & Author: DEI & growth mindset

🎙Public Speaking: I create customized presentations and workshops for organizations and events. My content leverages my 15-year corporate experience (Apple, Estée Lauder) as well as my personal experience as a triathlete and an author. 

🎓 Topics:

- Cultural agility as a competitive advantage in the workplace

- Inclusive leadership: mindset, behavior and processes

- Inclusive language as a catalyst for inclusion 

- An athlete's mindset: mental frameworks to get results 
  
- Thriving as a woman in the workplace

- Maximizing your influence with a personal brand

Languages available: English, Spanish, French, Italian & Portuguese

Veronica Llorca-Smith 💎

My home setup in Hong Kong for a virtual session on ALLYSHIP for Hines America and Europe! 

Earlier this week I delivered a session for the Asia Pacific teams in the Hong Kong office and last night was the rest of the world:

100+ participants across Europe and America.

We talked about the why and what of allyship and what each of us can do individually to be a better ally at work and beyond. 

We debunked myths, dove deep into common scenarios and misunderstandings and saw what effective allyship looks like in practice.

Each participant reflected and shared what allyship means to them and which underrepresented groups they want to be an ally for.

For some, it was people with disability, new parents, women's development, carers…we had a full screen and many commitments!

Thank you Éidín, Cristina Hernandez Enriquez and Melody Davidovic being amazing hosts and making me feel part of the team! 

PS: Over the moon to finally have my solopreneur corner at home!

Veronica Llorca-Smith🎤

International Speaker & Corporate Trainer in 6 languages: Leadership, Communication & Cultural Agility | Penguin Author | Ironman Triathlete | CEM (Chief Executive Mom)

Woman in an office with her computer dressed in black on a brown leather chair

I'm not a professional athlete or a fitness influencer. Just a mum trying to stay fit for my kids (ok, and fight gravity 🍑).

But one of the biggest growth engines for my business is... sport.

Exercising keeps my business moving forward:

Waking up early to train gives me peace and builds discipline.

Running without music or noise brings me clarity and focus. 

Cycling uphill when your muscles are screaming builds resilience and mental strength.

Competing in races fuels my motivation.

And getting home after a good sweat builds a winner mindset, one small win at a time.

I bring a lot of sports mindset and psychology into my public speaking work because it's the foundation of what I do, how I think and how I show up on stage and in life. 

If this resonates with you and you are looking for a speaker for your next event on leadership, cultural agility and/or growth mindset, let's have a chat - or go for a run!

Public speaking took me to Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore and India this year! 

My goal for 2025 was to grow my public speaking business. I got out of my comfort zone and started pitching to conferences, organizations and Speaker Bureaux worldwide and creating opportunities.

I didn't wait for people to knock on my door and it paid off. 

From being a panelist at the largest DEI Summit in Asia (SCMP) to traveling to Sydney to speak for UBS Australia and New Zealand.

The launch of my book, The Anti-Procrastinator with Penguin Random House, took me to literary festivals in Hong Kong, Singapore and India! 

I spoke for some iconic organizations such as AIA, S&P Global, Hines, Tendam, Ageas, both in person and remotely to their global teams.

I did my first-ever session in Spanish for Racing Cargo and their C-level team! 

And I also supported organizations pro bono, from The European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, to The Women Entrepreneurs Network HK (WEN) and the lovely community at Hey Lady! English Speaking Community and had some great collaborators like Mônica Zionede Hall (she/her), Melanie Staunton and Sharlene Jacquier.

Plus dozens of webinars, podcasts and live sessions in English and Spanish for my communities of writers and creators.

100+ sessions and I wrap things up tomorrow with the team at Minisport Hong Kong on a session on "Shaping 2026" for Matthew James Paterson's team. 
 
3 years ago I was unemployed, wondering what was next.

And this is what's next: believing in yourself and making things happen. 

Cheers to creating your own opportunities!

Panel of speakers with blue background and 2 women and 2 men on stage. 

Panel outdoors with 2 women and a man on a stage. Colorful and light. 

Woman on stage with a red dress and a mic

And then we were 3 (authors!!).

5 months ago, I had the honor of being the moderator at Nidhi Kush's book launch, "Becoming Bold, Brave and Brilliant" at Bookazine HK Hong Kong.

I invited Urmila Menon, a member of my community at The Lemon Tree Mindset 🌳🍋 and we met in person for the first time.

Urmila then became my Founding Member to work on the launch strategy for her own book, COLOR CODED: Finding Ourselves.

She just self-published it and... she hit the Amazon Bestseller Rank! 

Being an author is bloody hard but guess what, you don't have to do it all alone!

So get out there, find your peers, support other authors (especially indie ones), join communities, write reviews (please!).

PS 2: If you want to find out how Urmila became an Amazon Bestseller, read the full story here:

https://lnkd.in/g6HEs-rr

Woman smiling next to the book cover of COLOR CODED. She's brunette and the book has a mix of read and orange shapes with eyes

𝟲𝟬+ 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝟱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟭 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽! 

Yesterday I had the honor of being the guest speaker at 𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 in their Hong Kong office. I delivered a session to their teams across China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Australia. 

This initiative was hosted under the 𝙊𝙣𝙚𝙃𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 to promote allyship across the organization. 

We talked about 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 in the workplace and beyond with real examples, debunked myths and misunderstandings and covered an actionable framework to help go from intention to action.

Hosting hybrid sessions is challenging but it's more and more frequent among global organizations,  and thanks to technology, you can make it engaging, interactive and fun! 

We had cameras to include all the other offices and I used Slido to incorporate word clouds, polls and Q&A so that we could hear from everyone and make it an inclusive event.  

Thank you Melody Davidovic for being a fantastic host!

Looking forward to hosting the session tomorrow for the HINES teams in North America and Europe!

2 women in front of a HINES sign with green grass 

Picture of a global conference with multiple teams in different screens 

As a public speaker, before a big event (like today), I prepare not only mentally but ALSO physically:

- Protect your sleep (in bed and lights off by 9pm)

- Exercise to gain clarity and focus (beautiful sunrise from the Peak this morning, in Hong Kong!) 

- Drink lots of warm water to hydrate (it soothes your throat and helps relax your vocal cords). 

- Smile in front of the mirror (it really helps to set you up for success and set the tone for your energy!!)

- Breathing routine to turn your nerves into excitement.

- Choose an outfit that makes me feel confident and empowered. 

Getting ready to deliver a session on ALLYSHIP for the global teams at the real investment management company, HINES! 

It's a hybrid session in their Hong Kong office with 3 other teams across Asia joining virtually.

If you'd like to know more about my keynotes, corporate sessions and workshops, send me a DM and check the comments 👇🏽

Picture of a woman with a  beige dress and a black jacket in front of a colorful painting of an Asian woman 

Would you still work from the hospital?

Today I read a thought-provoking post here from a female CEO.

She was proudly sharing how she was still "leading" from the hospital as she was recovering from a serious surgery - sending emails, taking calls in her patient outift ...

"Unconditional leadership."

I felt uncomfortable because that's the message that the CEO is indirectly sending to the organization and will cascade from the top down:

"If I can lead while I'm recovering from surgery, you can lead anytime anywhere. No excuses. Toughen up" 

And this message creates a toxic culture that leads to burnout. I've been there. 

When the leader sends emails during the weekend, takes calls while on holidays and glorifies working from a hospital, they are role modeling that behavior and setting the tone for "what good looks like."

And here is the scary part: 

Do women feel they have to prove something? 

Do we need to show we are tough and strong to make a point?

Are we afraid of showing any sign of "weakness"?

Leadership is not always about doing. Sometimes it means stepping back.

Showing that you respect your own free time.

Prioritizing your health over the P&L of a company.

Having an OOO reply when you are on medical leave and honoring it. 

Saying out loud that it's okay not to be okay and that the company will still support you. 

Would you expect your employees to work from the hospital bed? 

Because if you are their leader, chances are they will follow your lead and whatever you decide to do, that's the culture you decide to create.

Woman with a red dress and a green background. Looks like a recording studio.

Yesterday I opened a coaching session with the worst line ever:

“I have imposter syndrome”

Note: I am the coach here (luckily I'm not a surgeon)

I know, not the most professional or polished line I could come up with, but definitely the most real.

My client, Charlie is a C-level exec and Founder, columnist at MarketWatch, 30K+ followers here, and has served US Presidents. 6 of them. It’s all public info.

So yes, feeling like an imposter was in order. 

He could have dismissed me after my "Grand Opening", but he didn't. He listened carefully, asked questions, took notes, and we had the most amazing hour. 

We brainstormed, trouble-shooted, ideated and combined our perspectives and expertise to take his strategy to the next level. I honestly gave 200%.

This morning, I woke up to his email and his feedback is one of the most powerful testimonials I've ever received.

Out of everything we discussed, the thing that actually struck him most was my opening because it was raw, honest and human. 

Sometimes we forget that real beats perfect. In a world that expects us to be perfectly groomed and polished, being honest goes a long way.

Feeling like an imposter syndrome doesn't make you weak: it means you are human and real and above all, it means that you care.

Thank you for trusting me and for inviting me to your table, Charles P. Garcia

Full article here: https://lnkd.in/gV_QgdxY

Testimonial written by my client with a black banner of Capital Mischief 

What does it take to become a New York Times bestseller?

That’s exactly what I want to ask writer and novelist Michelle Richmond in our live session tomorrow. 

Join 2 authors as we share experiences about writing books, building your author brand and turning your creativity into your lifestyle.

If you’ve been thinking about writing a book for a while, this might be exactly what you need to start 2026 in style. 

Publishing books is an incredible credibility booster for your career but it’s also your legacy and a project for your personal development. 

The gift of writing is writing. 

To join the live session live for FREE, subscribe now to The Lemon Tree Mindset 🌳🍋👇🏽

Tuesday 9 December, 9am Hong Kong time.

Flyer of the event with the picture of 2 women. 

From zero to 13,000. 

I had no idea how powerful having *your community* is until I built mine. 

Whether you are a solopreneur, writer, creator or even an employee, having your own community will open incredible doors for your career and your personal development:

- Collaborations across the world

- Broader visibility and exposure

- Invitations to podcasts, interviews, panels, events...

- New income streams: webinars, cohorts, courses, coaching...

- A strong personal brand that speaks for yourself when you approach partners, potential clients or investors

- A sounding board with peers that can give you feedback and help you grow with a bit of tough love

This is a snippet of how I'm growing my bilingual community at The Lemon Tree Mindset / El Limonero.

Today we are over 13,000 members across 164 countries but 3 years ago we were ZERO.

ZERO. 

It's not too late to start.

Make it exist first. You can worry about the rest later. 

Vamos! 👇🏽

This week I'll host 2 workshops for 𝗛𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 and its teams around the world. 

The initiative is led by 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠, an internal group dedicated to supporting, empowering, and championing women in the organization and beyond.

The topic is 𝗘𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 and how to become an ally not only for women but for all.

This is my 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱. I delivered it to UBS Australia & New Zealand, AIA Asia-Pacific, and Ageas Asia.

The goal is not to point fingers and blame but to discover how each of us can become an ally to promote equity and balance the scales.

We debunk myths, unwrap the concept through real cases and scenarios and go through a framework to change behaviours and make allyship part of the day-to-day culture: 

𝗔: 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 
𝗟: 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻
𝗟: 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻
𝗬: 𝗬𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 

Allyshish is not an act of charity but a catalyst for collective growth.

This could be a great session for your organization for the upcoming 2026 International Women's Day  

If you'd like to explore my keynotes and workshops on cultural agility, inclusive leadership and effective communication, visit my website and let's book a call.

Pink flyer with the picture of a woman and the title Effective Allyship 

This week I had 2 live sessions with NYT bestselling author Michelle Richmond and 7-figure ghostwriter Amy Suto.

And I learned this: there’s not one path.

The beginnings are tough for everyone and we have to keep going for an insane amount of time before anyone cares or notices our work. 

Michelle took homemade brownies to local bookstores in San Francisco to build relationships with indie booksellers.

Amy walked away from Hollywood screenwriting and started her own career from scratch because she wasn't valued. 

The journey looks different for everyone and someone's success formula might not work for another person but one thing is clear and universal: 

There’s only your path. 

Thank you, ladies, for bringing inspiration to The Lemon Tree Mindset 🌳🍋

If you are a creative solopreneur and want to connect with authors, writers and peers, join my global community of 13,000 (available in English and Spanish)👇🏽 

Check out the recordings - they are gold.

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Robert Younger

Veronica Llorca-Smith 💎

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The Battle

Robert Younger

Veronica Llorca-Smith 💎

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