Adair Skinner, PMP

Project Management Institute

Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba

• Expected graduation: January 2027

Urban Outfitters

• Visual Lead Project Manager for two new store openings (Burnaby and Richmond, BC), leading a team of 5 Canadian Merchandising Managers under the guidance of the Special Projects and Global Display Planning Senior Managers.
• Partnered with Operations Lead Project Managers to keep visual and operational workstreams aligned, holding beginning-of-day goal setting and end-of-day retrospectives to raise issues and adjust next-day priorities.
• Oversaw all visual aspects of each opening against a critical 7-day workback schedule, turning an empty space into a ready-to-open sales floor on time.
• Coordinated visual deliverables with cross-functional partners, tracked progress against daily milestones, and escalated risks to senior managers to keep openings on schedule.

Urban Outfitters — Winnipeg, MB

• As Store Manager, led the full closure of the Winnipeg location, working back from a fixed closure date.
• Managed the wind-down end to end, including inventory drawdown, tech returns, staffing transitions and team communication, and final handover of the space.

Urban Outfitters

• Travelled to store locations across Canada to train newly promoted and externally hired Visual and Store Managers; created a Visual Manager training checklist to ensure training was thorough, consistent, and complete.
• Designed digital meeting content and led training conference calls to support peers and drive sales in other markets; selected for these special projects based on manager development and retention results.

lululemon

• Deliver product education and a premium guest experience while building first-hand knowledge of lululemon’s retail environment, store operations, and culture.
• Completed PMP certification and maintain full-time B.Comm studies alongside the role, demonstrating strong planning and time management.

Urban Outfitters

• Oversaw 11 stores averaging $9,000,000 in total sales for the period, guiding Store Managers in driving sales and profitability.
• Reported district strengths, opportunities, and KPI action plans to the Regional Manager on a recurring basis.
• Drove sales by promoting personal ownership of business processes; the district consistently ranked #1 of 8 districts in the region in sales over the prior year.

Urban Outfitters

• Led a $5,000,000 volume location with 25–80 direct reports; one of the most profitable locations in Canada, generating $1,000,000 in profit during the most successful year.
• Managed all aspects of the recruitment cycle; the location held one of the highest employee retention rates in the company.
• Trained in Radical Candor leadership; the store outscored the company in every employee opinion survey category throughout management tenure.
• Grew Customer Experience Survey scores to 15+ points above company average through coaching and feedback. Store was regularly within the top 10 out of 250 stores for CX.

Urban Outfitters

• Responsible for all visual aspects of the store, including floor sets, product placement, and training team members on visual standards.

Urban Outfitters

• Completed all weekly and monthly operational tasks, including meeting agendas, schedules, and zone charts.
• Created a Specialist training program adopted across the country, leading to numerous internal promotions into management roles.

Gap Inc.

• Oversaw all human resources aspects of the store, including recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, training, payroll, and scheduling.
• Led all associate training programs; the store earned one of the highest Employee Experience Survey results during tenure.