Larisha Marques
Regional Area Manager
Sonstraal Heights
Summary
I am a motivated, driven and outgoing professional with sixteen years’ experience across client services, people management and operations. With a proven track record of generating and developing business relationships with both teams and clients. Leading a team to consistently deliver and exceed expectations brings me joy. I am a person who thrives on building relations for the betterment of business and individual team members alike. In life a personal motto to live by is "to always leave things better than they were found" and I find nothing too much trouble to ensure that the needs and expectations of both the clients, the business and the team are met thus increasing revenues and both brand development and awareness. S
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
7
7
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Regional Area Manager
Inospace
08.2021 - Current
- The Regional Area Manager functions to oversee and manage the allocated area / cluster in terms of operational and team productivity, ensuring action on all building, sales and leasing, objectives and vision, oversight and management of project developments and Centre operations, oversight and management of expenditure, arrears collection and budgets, and management of all reporting team members within the allocated buildings
- Key areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to -
- General Operations Management Directly oversee operations, HR, and accounting, and partner with the Regional Director on all areas related to the allocated area
- Monitor performance with tracking and establish corrective measures as needed, and prepare detailed reports, both current and forecasting Maintain and build trusted relationships with key customers, clients, partners, and stakeholders Assist and collaborate in marketing operations Analyse internal operations, identify areas of process enhancement, and introduce and perform processes and checks to ensure effective operations
- Develop actionable regional area strategies and plans that ensure alignment with short-term and long-term objectives developed in tandem with the Regional Director
- Building Project Management Management, oversight, coordination and control of all building related project management contracts and delivery schedules within your area
- Management of the onboarding process of new properties and projects and related activities Management and approval of client installation requests Performing and supervising effective property operations (property management and building services) in compliance with all applicable building codes, acts and regulations
- Centre Management Visit properties routinely to ensure effective running of centre Meeting clients and assisting Centre Managers in management and facilitation of clients and issues Performing and supervising effective property operations (property management and building services) in compliance with all applicable building codes, acts and regulations Oversight and management of centre insurance compliance requirements Oversight and management of centre leasing and vacancy schedules Oversight and management of centre maintenance requirements and schedules Oversight and management of annual business plans per centre Management of Park Managers and Centre Managers
- Leasing and Sales Performing and management of vacancies, leasing and sales in the area
- Performing and management of lease proposals, agreements and annexures, including ensuring of accurate deposit reflection Controlling, managing, and negotiation of client installation requests
- People Management 2 Responsible for effective recruitment, onboarding, professional development, performance management and team retention of team members within the area
- Management of Centre Managers and their performance, ensuring that they fulfil and understand their responsibilities
- Financial Management Management and control of the operational expenditure on an ongoing day-to-day basis Overall control of budgets and ensure compliance Sign off all expenditure, invoices, quotes and other required documentation for buildings Oversight and management of building project management budgets and reporting on budget data to stakeholders and development and funding proposals Oversight, management and control of monthly and annual Centre budgets and variance analyses Benchmark of KPI’s against the market Manage Portfolio Net Income vs Budget Manage property leasing to minimise vacancies Monitor and manage capital expenditure against the budget Manage arrears
- Reasons for leaving: Relocation to Cape Town
External Sales Executive, Key Accounts Manager, Key Accounts Manager
Infinetix
02.2021 - 08.2021
- As an External Sales Executive, , for an IT reseller, I am responsible for product sales and building a customer network via cold calling, door knocking, networking, online and social media engagement
- My focus is on marketing the various businesses, lead generation and generating new sales through online customer engagement and networking
- Key areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to -
- Product sales
- Promoting and advertising on social media platforms
- Building customer network through networking and engagement in various communities both online and local
- Relationship building and maintenance with existing customer base provided
- Research, cold calling and building sector databases
- Planning and travelling to meetings for/with Directors and Business Development Manager
- Business planning by reviewing the current sales volumes and determining what the plan of action is required to boost sales and/or meet expected monthly sales volumes
- Producing quotes, purchase orders and invoices through Pastel
- Reasons for leaving: Wanted to return to the property sector and expand my skills into industrial/commercial.
Brand Affiliate & Representative
NuSkin
01.2020 - 05.2021
- As Brand Affiliate and Representative, I am responsible for product sales and building a distributor network via network marketing and online engagement
- My focus is on marketing the business model, lead generation and generating new sales through online customer engagement and networking
- Key areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to -
- Product sales by promoting and advertising on social media platforms
- Building distributor network through networking and engagement in various communities both online and local
- Relationship building and maintenance with existing distributor team, upline and downline
- Business planning by reviewing the current sales volumes and quarterly stats and determining what the plan of action is required to boost sales or meet expected monthly sales volumes
- Reasons for leaving: Focus on full time employment
Area Sales Manager
Regus Management Group
Centurion
12.2018 - 11.2019
Byl’s Bridge
01.2018 - 01.2019
- 237 2200 Following a restructure in 2016, I was relocated to the Centurion area
- Within the first 6 months, the centre went from 33% occupancy (-11% EBIT) to 85% (31% EBIT) occupancy
- Both locations maintained both a high occupancy and profitability throughout my time there
- This allowed me the freedom to coach the additional area managers in my cluster to develop their locations and grow their businesses
- Collectively we consistently achieved all monthly cluster sales targets and quarterly revenue targets set out in the bonus structure
- Southdowns, 133 1400
- Midrand 2018-2019 242 2300
- Olifantsfontein, 900 Centre has since been closed
- Waterfall 2018-2019 442 4600 New centre opening
- I closed my largest deal in SA at 287ws, which occupied the 1st floor
- R12mil deal for 12 months., 428 4400 New centre opening
Lakeview
01.2016 - 01.2017
VP, Sales and Marketing
01.2016 - Current
- As one of the top sales performers out of 486 Regus employees in the EMEA region
- Achieved the highest average deals and highest conversion rate for Southern Africa for 2015
- Received Sales Circle of Excellence Award, June 2015
- Only 6 individuals have received this award in South
- Africa since inception
- Received CEO Sales Award, December 2015
- I am the only person to receive this award in South Africa since inception
- Received CSAF Circle of Excellence Award, June 2016
- 1 of 6 individuals to be acknowledged for highest sales delivery, occupancy, profitability and business improvement across the CSAF region
- 9
- Closed the largest office sale in Regus South Africa History in 2018 for 287 workstations totally R12 million contract value excluding services
- School related
- Member of the Pretoria Junior City Council, 2001
- Academic student of the year, 2000 and 2001
- Class captain, every year
- Prefect in Grade 8
- Various
- Philosophy and spirituality
- Travel
- Psychology and counselling
- Nature
- Archaeology and History
- Music 10
Area Manager and Coaching Manager As
Regus Management Group
Centurion
02.2016 - 11.2018
- Area Manager, I am responsible for running and supervising all aspects of two Regus Business Centers
- My focus is on marketing the business and generating new sales, whilst growing and retaining existing customers by delivering exceptional customer service as well as developing and implementing the business strategy to grow both locations’ profit margins on an ongoing basis
- 4
- Key areas of responsibility for two locations include, but are not limited to -
- Customer service and retention by focused activities to improve the net promoter score as well as renewals and the negotiations thereof
- Business planning by reviewing the forward order book on a regular basis to ensure high occupancy through all product ranges and the projected delivery with the necessary action plans needed to follow through
- Profit and loss management by analysing the historical or similar locations revenue trend and setting new benchmarks to achieve as well tight cost control and elimination of unnecessary costs and expenditure
- Leadership and team management by creating a community with the team and having regular conversations about their personal development as well as team building activities to create synergy within the team as I believe a team is stronger together
- Setting the team up to deliver every time with/out a manager’s presence with a high level of accountability
- Sales and local marketing by daily review on our online presence, competitor shopping, networking with brokers and business enterprises that would benefit from our solution
- Centre operations and facilities management by ensuring thorough utilisation of the company processes whilst implementing daily, weekly and monthly routines as well as daily client visits to ensure speedy response and resolution on queries
- Quarterly audits in place to ensure compliance
- Supplier management by building reliable relationships and pushing for competitive rates
- Recruitment and training
- As a coaching manager, it is essential every employee is trained right the first time followed by assessments in order to be certified
- Billing, payments and debt collections as well as detailed reconciliations, terminations, legal packs and client handovers.
Area Sales Manager
Regus
01.2014 - 01.2016
- 152 1600 This was a new centre opening where I achieved an 83% occupancy and 27% EBIT by month 6, setting the new benchmark for NCO’s which was originally only month 9
- I returned after 8 months to rescue the business and achieved strong profitability again within 8 months
- Menlyn Maine 2014-2014 360 3800 New flagship centre opening., I was responsible for running and supervising all aspects of two, Business Centres and one Spaces Centres
- My focus was on marketing the business, lead generation and generating new sales, whilst expanding and converting existing customers by regular customer journey meetings to ensure ongoing satisfaction with our solutions
- Key areas of responsibility for three locations include, but are not limited to -
- Strong focus on lead generation and new sales conversations
- Existing customer engagement ensuring their needs are met and referral generation
- Relationship building with local commercial and residual brokers for referrals
- Sales and local marketing by daily review on our online presence, competitor shopping, networking with brokers and business enterprises that would benefit from our solution
- Business planning by reviewing the forward order book on a regular basis to ensure high occupancy through all product ranges and the projected delivery with the necessary action plans needed to follow through
- Leadership and team management by creating a community with the team and having regular conversations about their centres and customer awareness
- Reasons for leaving: Relocation opportunity to Netherlands for my husband.
General Manager and Coaching Manager
Regus Management Group
Pretoria
09.2013 - 01.2016
- As General Manager, I was responsible for the new centre openings of Brooklyn and Menlyn with the focus on the opening occupation as well as running and supervising all aspects of both locations independently during this time
- My focus was on brand awareness and educating the marketing on an alternative office solution to the existing local sector
- Once the centres had been established, my focus was on marketing the business and generating new sales, whilst growing and retaining existing customers by delivering exceptional customer service as well as developing and implementing the business strategy to grow both locations' profit margins on an ongoing basis
- Key areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to -
- Customer service and retention by focused activities to improve the net promoter score as well as renewals and the negotiations thereof
- Business planning by reviewing the forward order book on a regular basis to ensure high occupancy through all product ranges and the projected delivery with the necessary action plans needed to follow through
- Profit and loss management by analysing the historical or similar locations revenue trend and setting new benchmarks to achieve as well tight cost control and elimination of unnecessary costs and expenditure
- Leadership and team management by creating a community with the team and having regular conversations about their personal development as well as team building activities to create synergy within the team as I believe a team is stronger together
- Setting the team up to deliver every time with/out a manager’s presence with a high level of accountability
- 5
- Sales and local marketing by daily review on our online presence, competitor shopping, networking with brokers and business enterprises that would benefit from our solution
- Centre operations and facilities management by ensuring thorough utilisation of the company processes whilst implementing daily, weekly and monthly routines as well as daily client visits to ensure speedy response and resolution on queries
- Quarterly audits in place to ensure compliance
- Supplier management by building reliable relationships and pushing for competitive rates
- Recruitment and training
- As a coaching manager, it is essential every employee is trained right the first time followed by assessments in order to be certified
- Billing, payments and debt collections as well as detailed reconciliations, terminations, legal packs and client handovers.
Brooklyn
01.2013 - 01.2014
Finance Officer and HR Assistant
02.2012 - 08.2013
- I was promoted to a General Manager whereby I continued with the existing function as well as generating new sales and managing the forward order book across all products ensuring high occupation
- Key areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to -
- Customer service and retention by focused activities to improve the net promoter score as well as renewals and the negotiations thereof
- Business planning by reviewing the forward order book on a regular basis to ensure high occupancy through all product ranges and the projected delivery with the necessary action plans needed to follow through
- Profit and loss management by analysing the historical or similar locations revenue trend and setting new benchmarks to achieve as well tight cost control and elimination of unnecessary costs and expenditure
- Leadership and team management by creating a community with the team and having regular conversations about their personal development as well as team building activities to create synergy within the team as I believe a team is stronger together
- Setting the team up to deliver every time with/out a manager’s presence with a high level of accountability
- Sales and local marketing by daily review on our online presence, competitor shopping, networking with brokers and business enterprises that would benefit from our solution
- Centre operations and facilities management by ensuring thorough utilisation of the company processes whilst implementing daily, weekly and monthly routines as well as daily client visits to ensure speedy response and resolution on queries
- Quarterly audits in place to ensure compliance
- Supplier management by building reliable relationships and pushing for competitive rates
- Recruitment and training
- As a coaching manager, it is essential every employee is trained right the first time followed by assessments in order to be certified
- Billing, payments and debt collections as well as detailed reconciliations, terminations, legal packs and client handovers., I was responsible for various centralised functions across South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius capturing, auditing, reviewing and controlling all aspects of these locations
- During this time I was privileged to participate in migrating the accounting system and information from ACCPAC to SUN as well as test, migrate, roll-out, implement, train and support the business by moving the billing system from Ultrabis to Titan
- Key areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to -
- Full debtors function by loading new contracts, billing monthly recurring and daily consumables, raising invoices/credit notes, capturing client payments, allocations, providing statements and reconciliations
- Full creditors function by capturing all supplier invoices, loading payments, payment allocations and reconciliations
- Capturing Daily and Monthly bank statements and month end reconciliations for 20 bank accounts including the companies 2 main business accounts
- Capturing and balancing 8 centres business units and intercompany loan accounts
- Onboarding and termination of all employees
- Payroll management, payments, journals and reconciliations as well as maintain the relationship with the
- Payroll Company and brokerage regarding medical aid, pension, etc
- Deferred income journals
- Depreciation journals and asset registers
- VAT
- Centre and Country Accruals
- Month end cost control audits
- Month end review of prelim profit and loss
- Petty cash reconciliations
- Deposit refunds and reconciliations
- Debit order runs
- GAAP Adjustments
- Processing of monthly membership and management fees
- Monthly trial balance and balance sheet reconciliations
- Half-year and year-end audits preparations and lead
- Bad debt provisions
- Ledger creation for easy imports and exports
- Monthly Stats register
- Support budget activities
- Assisted with BEE
- Forex and foreign payments
- Centre costs journal
- Maintain teams database, country contact details and develop checklists and routines to improve month-end readiness, accuracy and speedy completion
Centre Manager, General Manager
Regus Management Group
10.2010 - 08.2013
- 01.2013
- Location Year Workstation Sqm Notes
- Woodmead 2010-, 264 2400 I took this centre from averaging R700-900K pm to R1.6mil at a 46% EBIT
Centre Manager
10.2010 - 01.2012
- I was responsible for the running and supervising all aspects of business
- My focus was on growing and retaining existing customers by delivering exceptional customer service as well as developing and implementing the business strategy to grow both locations' profit margins on an ongoing basis.
Finance Officer and HR assistant, Sub
Regus Management Group
Sandton
11.2006 - 09.2010
Education
undefined
01.2012 - 01.2019
undefined
Regus – School of excellence
BCom - Economic and Management Sciences
Stellenbosch University
A-Levels - undefined
Brainline Junior University
Skills
People dynamics and team management
undefinedTimeline
Regional Area Manager
Inospace
08.2021 - Current
External Sales Executive, Key Accounts Manager, Key Accounts Manager
Infinetix
02.2021 - 08.2021
Brand Affiliate & Representative
NuSkin
01.2020 - 05.2021
Area Sales Manager
Regus Management Group
12.2018 - 11.2019
Byl’s Bridge
01.2018 - 01.2019
Area Manager and Coaching Manager As
Regus Management Group
02.2016 - 11.2018
Lakeview
01.2016 - 01.2017
VP, Sales and Marketing
01.2016 - Current
Area Sales Manager
Regus
01.2014 - 01.2016
General Manager and Coaching Manager
Regus Management Group
09.2013 - 01.2016
Brooklyn
01.2013 - 01.2014
Finance Officer and HR Assistant
02.2012 - 08.2013
undefined
01.2012 - 01.2019
Centre Manager, General Manager
Regus Management Group
10.2010 - 08.2013
Centre Manager
10.2010 - 01.2012
Finance Officer and HR assistant, Sub
Regus Management Group
11.2006 - 09.2010
- 01.2013
undefined
Regus – School of excellence
BCom - Economic and Management Sciences
Stellenbosch University
A-Levels - undefined
Brainline Junior University
Similar Profiles
Marche CarstensMarche Carstens
Financial Manager & Company Manager at Jazzart & Namjive Dance TheatreFinancial Manager & Company Manager at Jazzart & Namjive Dance Theatre
Robert HannaRobert Hanna
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT at Cardinal HealthSENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT at Cardinal Health
Junior NuuialiiJunior Nuuialii
Operator at EmployerOperator at Employer
Britni BrunoBritni Bruno
Regional Area Manager at L5 Be Brave- KidStrongRegional Area Manager at L5 Be Brave- KidStrong
Travis WinklerTravis Winkler
Regional Area Manager at Anchor IndustrialRegional Area Manager at Anchor Industrial