Chris (Qiu) Chen

People & Performance Leader | Customer Experience | AI Adoption & Change Enablement | Retail Operations

Queens, New York, United States

About

Throughout my career, I've been driven by a passion for helping people, teams, and businesses perform at their best. Over the past 14+ years, I've led high-performing teams in some of the highest-volume retail environments in the United States, building a track record of delivering business results through strong leadership, operational excellence, and exceptional customer experiences. Beyond day-to-day business leadership, I've taken on opportunities to develop people, champion change, and support strategic initiatives. As a Leadership Excellence & Development (L.E.A.D.) Mentor, DE&I Chapter Leader, and AI Enablement Lead, I've helped leaders grow, foster inclusive team cultures, and support the adoption of new technologies and ways of working. I have extensive experience leading diverse teams across different markets and communities, adapting my leadership approach to connect with employees and customers from a wide range of backgrounds. As a fluent Mandarin speaker, I currently support one of the most culturally diverse customer populations in the country, helping build stronger relationships with both customers and team members. I thrive at the intersection of people, performance, customer experience, and innovation. Whether developing leaders, driving business performance, improving experiences, or helping teams navigate change, I am energized by creating environments where people can succeed and businesses can grow. Areas of expertise include: • People Leadership & Team Development • Customer Experience • AI Adoption & Change Enablement • Talent Assessment & Hiring • Coaching & Leadership Development • Employee Engagement • Business Performance & Growth • Retail Operation Excellence • Cross-Functional Collaboration • Inclusive Leadership & Culture Building Fluent in English and Mandarin.

Experience

  • T-Mobile (14 yrs 5 mos)
    • Experience Store Manager, High Volume
      Jun 2025 - Present · 1 yr 1 mo

      Lead a nationally recognized, high-performing retail team serving one of the most diverse customer populations in the United States. In 2025 and 2026, the business achieved the highest performance ranking in the country, finished in the top 3% nationally, developed six Winner's Circle winners, and led all locations in first-time resolution and customer retention.

    • L.E.A.D Mentor 2022 - 2026
      May 2022 - Present · 4 yrs 2 mos

      Play pivotal role in L.E.A.D program (Leadership Excellence and Development) where provides ultimate support and guidance for the future leaders Effectively mentor and offer ongoing leadership development and coaching through meetings and events Spend time with L.E.A.D leaners and participants and invest in company's future leaders, while they own the growth as leaders Over 20 internal/external promotions since 2022

    • DE&I Chapter Leader/Integration Leader
      Jan 2018 - Jun 2025 · 7 yrs 6 mos

      • Lead a team of Retail Integration Specialists, provide onboarding, coaching, scheduling support, escalation support, district level leadership communications and be the integration support expert for 8 cross brand locations in our district (total 148 employees) • Be the liaison between RIS and their store leaders, observe and skill practice with RIS team to better deliver best in class cross brand experience • Conduct productive store visits to reinforce any best front line behaviors to serve customers • Build collaborate internal, external and cross functional relationships as an integrated part of support organization and Retail Sales Team • Communicate and develop strategies on all current and future Un-Carrier moves and business initiatives T-Mobile introduces to the telecommunications industry • Create and sustain a positive work environment where retail sales associates are motivated and ready to excel • Deliver day to day coaching and training to associate managers down to retail mobile experts to ensure quality execution of store processes and strategies. • Conduct one-on-one with mobile experts and provide recognition and feedback in such a way that creates an open and approachable culture in the store • Lead by example while training experts and supervisors by modeling outstanding customer service skills and team member development • Promote an open and supportive learning environment that foster knowledge transfer, competency and practical application of desired skills • Deliver and reinforce learning solutions that build skills and knowledge of the frontline sales team • Facilitate outreach events at district level along with other store managers and event team • Manage and collaborate the labor budget at district level to achieve company target • Store 8924 finished top 7 in 2018 within BQLI Market while promoted 2 managers • Store 8924 scored 93% during internal audit in 2019