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Mario Garcia

@marioaureliogarcia

Chief of Staff at The Queen Pet Shop Group; helped scale the self-funded retail group from 6 to 21 stores.

At The Queen Pet Shop Group, I helped scale a self-funded, multi-site retail business from 6 to 21 stores, adding a head office and warehouse as it grew. I also helped guide the group through a scaling inflection and later margin-stabilisation decisions.

I held sole responsibility for HR and industrial relations for five years, covering hiring, performance reviews and more than 100 disciplinary hearings. I also represented the company at statutory conciliation and arbitration hearings.

I renegotiated merchant services with Nedbank and led lease negotiations across the store estate. I drove the configuration, implementation, training and troubleshooting of cloud systems connecting point-of-sale, inventory, demand forecasting, Shopify and Xero.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Senior Management & Operations

Current

The Queen Pet Shop Group

Dec 2017 - Present (8 years 10 months)

Scaled a pet-retail group from 6 to 21 stores and 30 to 120+ staff, with no external investment. Led HR, industrial relations, lease negotiations, and cloud systems implementation.

Point of Sale Inventory Management Inventory Planner Shopify Xero ERP Sales Analysis Margin Analysis Category Contribution Sell out Analysis Business Reporting Data Governance Microsoft 365 Google Workspace Human Resources Industrial Relations Lease Negotiation Contract Negotiation

General Manager

Rodtrade Group

Jul 2015 - Oct 2018 (3 years 3 months)

Managed four Steers and Debonairs quick-service franchise outlets, overseeing around 60 permanent staff. Handled day-to-day operations across multiple locations concurrently.

Franchise Management Multi Site Operations Staff Management Quick Service Restaurants

Assistant Lecturer

University of Pretoria

Jan 2014 - Jun 2015 (1 year 5 months)

Lectured approximately 100 first-year students per semester in English Studies, delivering structured arguments and setting, marking, and moderating assessments and final exams.

Teaching Lecturing Assessment Design Curriculum Delivery English Literature

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

University of Pretoria

BA Honours, English Studies

Grade: 72.88%

Completed a BA Honours in English Studies with an overall average of 72.88%, earning distinctions in Postmodernism, Poetics & Literary Theory, Modernism, Shakespeare, Creative Writing, and Editing.