Christopher Larkins
PARTNER
Chris is a Partner at CEO Coaching International, a member of the firm’s Executive Leadership Team, and an active coach. He has a proven record leading, growing and reinvigorating large and medium companies across a wide variety of industries – including retail, consumer services, distribution, manufacturing and international operations. Chris has used this diverse background to discover and share best practices and leadership principles that help all businesses thrive and expand.
Professional Summary
Immediately prior to joining CEO Coaching International, Chris held two concurrent senior executive roles for Prime Communications, a major AT&T Authorized Retail chain with 650 stores nationwide. As Prime’s President in the Western US, Chris took the reins of an acquired portfolio of severely underperforming stores, and rapidly led them to record sales and profits. These efforts led AT&T to name Prime its #1 chain in the Western US, literally a worst-to-first transformation. As Prime’s corporate COO, Chris concurrently boosted gross profit across all company locations coast-to-coast, earned recognition as AT&T’s #1 ranked chain nationwide, and built the infrastructure that successfully added over 450 locations in less than 3 years, tripling the company’s footprint. Most locations were added to the portfolio via acquisition and integration of other chains.
He collectively has 20 years’ experience serving as President or Managing Partner of numerous businesses in consumer services, distribution, manufacturing, and international sales. He has established supply chains and subsidiary operations around the globe, particularly in Asia and Latin America. In all cases, Chris proved himself to be a powerful renovator and an agent for change – leading aggressive turnarounds of distressed companies, and/or helping them transform their businesses in the face of adverse market conditions or deteriorating performance. He has been formally recognized numerous times for leading organizations to #1 in their space.Chris believes that “The toughest thing for your competitors to replicate is often not a new product or clever idea, but rather ‘flawless execution’. Frequently, the seemingly less glamorous work of thinking ‘Inside the Box’ – hiring the best people in the world, establishing world-class processes, meticulously tracking leading activities, and investing in ways to deliver your product or service better than anyone else – wins out over those who focus solely on innovation and creativity.”
Business Highlights
Chris is a highly engaged member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), serving 2 years as Chairman of the Orange County Chapter. During his tenure as Chairman, YPO Orange County was recognized with the #1 Rating Worldwide – out of 400 chapters across the globe. Chris also serves on the YPO Regional Executive Committee and is Learning Officer of the YPO Leadership Development Network. He and his family live in Orange County, California, where Chris also serves on the Dean’s Leadership Society at UC Irvine and on the Board of Directors at JSerra Catholic High School.