Orlando Gonzalez
East Hartford,US
Summary
Accomplished professional with expertise in merchandise planning, inventory management, and visual merchandising. Demonstrates proficiency in product lifecycle management and sales strategy, leveraging data-driven decisions to optimize performance. Skilled in cross-functional influence and stakeholder partnership, ensuring policy compliance and driving culture transformation for organizational alignment.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
3
3
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Merchandising Manager
The Home Depot
Hamden, CT
2024.04 - 2026.02
- Facilitated organisational alignment and strengthened leadership capability by training newly assigned operations manager, enhancing overall team effectiveness.
- Enhanced leadership behaviours across store operations to foster team effectiveness and coherence.
- Fostered team engagement to improve communication flow and promote collaboration across store operations.
- Ensured alignment with organisational standards across departments through coordinated efforts and effective communication.
- Coached leaders on communication and accountability to elevate team engagement.
Store Operations Manager
The Home Depot
East Haven, CT
2023.04 - 2026.02
- Exceeded annual sales plan through improved team alignment and leadership effectiveness.
- Reduced shrink by 30% in one year through behavior change, process adoption, and accountability systems.
- Achieved 215 consecutive days safe, the longest in store history, by strengthening safety culture and leader ownership.
- Led organizational culture, engagement, and change initiatives for a $69M operation with 120 associates and 12 leaders. Served as a strategic partner to department managers and assistant managers, coaching them on leadership behaviors, communication, and team development.
- Used KPI trends to diagnose organizational gaps, influence leader behavior, and drive targeted improvement plans.
- Built a culture of trust, recognition, and accountability, resulting in an 85% Voice of the Associate score and the highest Associate Development score in the district.
- Developed future leaders via structured coaching, performance feedback, and capability-building discussions.
Merchandising Manager
The Home Depot
Hatillo, Puerto Rico & Hamden, CT
2013.04 - 2023.04
- Supported new store opening in Hatillo, contributing to 10% sales increase in first year through team collaboration and culture building.
- Achieved highest associate engagement score in district (89%) in Hamden.
- Promoted safety culture, leading to 365 days of safe operations through enhanced leader accountability.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Business, Leadership & Management, Human Resources
University of Phoenix
United States 2023.01 - 2026.05
Skills
- Merchandise Planning
- Inventory Management
- Visual Merchandising
- Product Lifecycle Management
- Sales Strategy
- Data-driven decisions
- Cross-Functional Influence & Stakeholder Partnership
- Policy compliance
- Culture transformation
- Alignment
Languages
English
Spanish
Timeline
Merchandising Manager
The Home Depot
2024.04 - 2026.02
Store Operations Manager
The Home Depot
2023.04 - 2026.02
Bachelor of Science - Business, Leadership & Management, Human Resources
University of Phoenix
2023.01 - 2026.05
Merchandising Manager
The Home Depot
2013.04 - 2023.04