Veronica Llorca-Smith 🍋

Veronica Llorca-Smith

🎙Public Speaking: My focus is on helping organizations build inclusive, high-performing teams with the power of DEI and cultural agility. 

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. My content is based on storytelling and actionable frameworks.

🎓 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

- DEI Fundamentals: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 
 
- Maximizing your influence with a personal brand

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

Professional Speaker: Inclusive Leadership, Cultural Agility & Growth Mindset

Leaders for Good

Leaders for Good are Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) & Culture Change Specialists.

We believe DEI is a vital part of business strategy and we work with leaders and organisations to embed DEI into the fabric of their organisations. 

We work with all scales of organisations in APAC, from large corporations to government departments and NFPs. We work with leaders and organisations in three key areas:

DEI Strategy
DEI Training & Development 
DEI Consulting & Advisory 

Our purpose is to unlock the tremendous power of organisations to create a more equitable world. We don’t just say it, we put 50% of our profit to equity causes. Learn more about our impact strategy here leadersforgood.org/our-impact.

As a Project Director, I support the growth of the business through international expansion, particularly in the APAC Region. Our goal is to grow in a sustainable way so that we can scale our impact and continue to give back to the community.

I support the business from a 360 perspective: from the DEI assessment and strategy, to the design of our programs and the facilitation.

Asia-Pacific Director - DEI (Diversity, Inclusion & Equity)

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

Lead the Retail development of Clinique in APAC, driving sales growth and profitability while developing high performance teams. Implement standard business, operations and talent processes to operate consistently across 14 affiliates. Lead channel diversification through online acceleration.  
Training & Talent development of APAC Retail Teams (2,000+ staff). Key markets: Australia, Japan, South East Asia. Responsible for Retail Sales 400M US$ (FY20)
Retail Strategy & Operations: 
-Lead Retail Teams (16 National Sales & Education Managers & 2,000+ staff) to deliver high performance, drive growth, client acquisition and customer experience. Support  affiliates in local Go-to-Market strategy.
-Drive efficiency and productivity through distribution diversification, online acceleration, NOP optimisation. Increased online MOB from 6% to 20% in FY20. 
-Lead sales strategy in APAC: investment in top 20 Flaghip Stores, accelerate SMC channels, decrease dependency on Brick& Mortar, pivot to online. Grew +2% YOY in FY21 in Retail Sales in spite of the pandemic. 
-Work closely with business partners to reach monthly & annual targets. Key APAC partners: SMC: Sephora, Mecca, Eve&Boy, Olive Young // DS: David Jones, MYERS
-Implement standard processes & drive retail digitalisation across APAC: NPS, omni-retail programs, digital learning tools, retail technology
-Partner with senior cross-functional teams: new product launch strategy, implementation of retail technology, CRM program execution, COVID retail response
Training:
-Design a holistic Talent & Training strategy to develop current and future leadership 
-Optimize Talent development through digital tools: digital PDP, leadership development programs, LinkedIn Learning
-Monitor employee engagement & satisfaction (eNPS) and build action plans
-Lead leadership on-boarding, Talent Assessment  & Succession Plan
-Partner with Compensation Team to create a cohesive people engagement strategy to increase

Senior Director of Retail Operations and Training APAC

Apple

Drive the Retail Business B2B strategy, execution and talent development across the market (7 Apple Flagship Stores). Hire, lead  & develop the Business teams (leadership and field team of 60) to grow sales and deliver excellent customer service. Drive penetration of Apple ecosystem across SMC and MNC. Retail Sales 100MUS$ (FY2018)
Strategy & operations:
-Lead and implement B2B strategy in HK in partnership with Senior stake-holders 
-Implement Global Strategy “Business @ Apple” Programs with local relevance
-Lead rollout and adoption of new CRM (Apple CRM, 2018) for business customers 
Sales and Business Development:
-New Business: design and execute plans to generate new business through inbound/ outbound lead campaigns and excellence in pipeline management. 
-Repeat Business: lead Briefing strategy in partnership with Solutions Engineer and Account Managers to offer holistic business solutions to business customers (Apple hardware, software and services) increasing Apple footprint in B2B
People Development
-Hiring and development of Business Team of 60 staff (Business Managers, AM’s)
-Lead Talent Assessment and Development of Business Team (digital PDP) 
Retail customer experience:
-Drive Customer satisfaction strategy to achieve excellent customer service in Business Retail (responsible for Apple Business NPS results in the market)

Head of Business Hong Kong & Macau

Lead & inspire a team of 9 to provide exceptional customer service (in store/ phone) and offer IT business solutions
Develop & execute innovative strategies to build long-lasting business relationships with corporate customers in HK
Drive performance across new/ repeat customers by focusing on effective account & pipeline management
Develop & implement effective business plans to achieve performance goals
Lead & support internal training about business services
Coach & develop Business Team and individuals for career development (Lominger system)
Inform leadership on business priorities and strategies (strong verbal & written communication skills)
Conduct weekly meetings with General Manager to review performance & develop future strategies

Business Manager

European Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong

Supervise Chamber’s financials (P&L, accounting), operations and team (2 staff)
Discuss and agree on annual budget with the European Commission and present budget to Chamber’s Board 
General Management of the Chamber (taxes, reporting, audit)
Supervise events organization (fairs in HK and Macau, forums, seminars) to ensure successful attendance & profit
Partnership with third parties to host joint-events (HKTDC, Chambers, Asia Society, Government,EU..)
Host industry roundtables with main European companies in HK (IT, Retail, Taxation, Finance, Intellectual Property)
Prepare weekly newsletters reporting the Chamber’s activities and update corporate website
Elaborate comprehensive reports to the EU with details of the various events and financial breakdown
Main spokesperson of the Chamber in public events, meetings, media

Director

GTS GROUP (currently Alfaparf)

Management of Hong Kong Regional Office 
Sales management of key markets: Greater China, Japan, Singapore & Malaysia
Business Development in Asia: commercial expansion to new markets (Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka)
B2B negotiation with regional distributors: fix target, sales strategies
Define pricing positioning and strategy
Lead marketing and PR activities (fairs, promotions, press release)
Lead training activity in the area: trainings, seminars, launching events
Supervise operations: forecasts, orders follow-up, payment conditions

Asia Pacific Manager

Operasia Forwarding Ltd

Establish and manage Shanghai Representative office (10 staff)
Supervise opening of China Regional offices (Ningbo, Qingdao, Shenzhen)
Lead local sales force to increase European clients portfolio
B2B negotiation with local agents in China and new partnerships
Supervise logistic operations to ensure customers' satisfaction
Customer service support to European clients: visit to factories, fairs, support for inspections, advice on export regulation.

Asia Business Development Manager

Spanish Trade Commission in Shanghai

Provide commercial support to Spanish companies willing to enter the Chinese market via distributors, franchises or direct investment. 
Develop the network within the retail channels (departments stores, mall, importers, etc).
Participate in trade fairs of fashion &amp; cosmetics in China
Organize brands launching events with marketing and PR support
Market analysis and extensive reports on fashion &amp; cosmetics

Trade Consultant for Fashion & Cosmetics

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

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

Veronica Llorca-Smith🎤

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

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

taplio

Veronica Llorca-Smith's Linkedin Analytics

Veronica Llorca-Smith 💎

Performance ScoreVeronica Llorca-Smith 💎's LinkedIn Performance

What is Veronica talking about?

Who is engaging with Veronica

Veronica Llorca-Smith 💎's Best Posts (last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?