Rick Wanner

Background

About Rick Wanner

I initially wanted to become an English teacher and began in retail to pay tuition. I discovered managing a store and shaping the minds of young workers achieved my teaching goals. Retail is the accidental career. While I did not complete my BA, my over 25 years of leadership positions have given me the hands-on mentored opportunity to understand business and allows me to be successful in professional relationships. My experience is varied: career coaching, retail, warehouse, automotive and construction with responsibilities of people development, sales, operations, human resources, health & safety and finance. I have progressed from small retail to big box to multi-unit leadership and a member of senior management as a director. I have built scalable infrastructure for a startup and developed all company policies, documents and department structures. Utilizing my diverse experience as a resource, I identify and solve business opportunities by observing and coaching teams, analyzing trends and metrics leading to growth in sales, team engagement and NPS. I increase sales through detailed forecasting and budgeting, market analysis and operations improvement. I understand the importance of being a company brand ambassador and participate in workshops to ensure I can contribute to better the industries and my community. I am a continuous learner and believe this is a foundational approach to a professional career no matter what your goals are or what stage you are at. Through this mindset, I build and coach high-performing teams with encouragement, empowerment and accountability. I have Canadian & Swiss citizenship as my father was born in Zürich. Reflecting on his experience, I understand the difficulties newcomers may face when entering the Canadian workforce. This has created a passion to help both newcomers and young workers grow professionally in responsibility, sales volume or into leadership roles. In multiple companies, I have assisted coworkers with their immigration process including writing letters, applications and meeting with their consultants. I have taken EDI training to ensure I create a workplace environment where everyone feels valued, respected and included. It was not until recently that I realized how much my professional path constantly led me to help others make the most of their futures and the desire to affect positive change on a global scale. I believe success comes from building confidence in using the tools you have and learning how to share your experiences to show your value and inspire your team.