Ajay Raina

Commercial leader with a Master’s in Finance and 15+ years of experience delivering accelerated revenue growth, market expansion and strategic partnershipsin competitive markets. Used CRM insight, financial analysis, data analysis and value-led client engagement to deliver $250,000+ monthly revenue, 180% sales growth and a recovery from -49% YTD to +10%. Recognised as Best Sales Manager for revenue growth and client acquisition.

Customer and Trading Manager - Sainsbury's - Glasgow, Scotland

(2026-01)

• Lead end-to-end trading, customer experience and operational performance for a high-volume store area, balancing sales targets, margin control, availability and compliance in a fast-paced environment.
• Analysed customer feedback, waste and service trends, improving availability and customer experience scores (CSAT) by 17% through targeted corrective actions.
• Manage, coach and motivate multi-skilled teams across trading hours, overseeing rostering and payroll management while driving productivity, service standards, engagement and consistent delivery against KPIs.
• Ensure strict adherence to cash control, health & safety, food safety and regulatory standards, maintaining audit-ready operations and minimising operational risk. End-to-end accountability for store banking operations, including daily cash reconciliation, safe and till controls, variance investigation and oversight of payment kiosks and self-checkout systems, ensuring compliance with internal controls and audit standards.

Business Advisor (Freelance) - Jupitek Inc. - Remote | Toronto, Canada

(2025-06 - 2026-01)

• Advised founders on business growth strategy, financial positioning and go-to-market planning, acting as a trusted relationship partner across multiple engagements and creating valuable business relationships.
• Delivered change readiness assessments, reducing execution risk by 25% through process mapping, stakeholder alignment and adoption planning.
• Supported and advised clients on AI and GenAI adoption (Copilot and GitHub), translating emerging technology into practical, compliant and value-driven business solutions.

Team Lead - The Co-operative Group Limited (Co-op) - Glasgow, Scotland

(2024-11 - 2025-06)

• Directed end-to-end store operations, overseeing team leadership, cash handling and inventory management ensuring dependable service delivery. Reduced waste by 15% through improved markdown strategies.
• Spearheaded Sales, monitored and coached customer-facing teams and guided Community Engagement, demonstrating excellent interpersonal skills. Monitored and enforced regulatory compliance standards.

Regional Sales Head (Fixed term) - Radhika’s Balanced Body - Mumbai, India

(2022-10 - 2023-01)

• Developed and implemented regional sales and distribution strategies, including promotional events, targeted trainer meet-ups and in-studio equipment display events for Pilates equipment, increasing sales by 180% in Q3, orders rising from 10 to 28, demonstrating effective business networking and sharp business acumen.
• Introduced new SOPs and led logistics improvements, including 3PL partnerships and warehouse contracting, improving inventory accuracy by 20% and cutting lead times by 15%.
• Increased brand visibility through participation in leading healthcare and wellness expos like IHFF, banking on presentation and excellent verbal communication skills, resulting in a 50% boost in lead generation.
• Developed and evaluated regional business cases for new market entry, identifying business opportunities, building relationships and aligning business strategy with financial projections and operational risk analysis.

Business Unit Head - Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd. - Mumbai, India

(2019-06 - 2022-04)

Multi-Site Management

• Led sales and marketing across five resorts with a growth mindset, recovering performance from -49% YTD to +10% within 10 months through best utilisation of Salesforce and CRM tools.
• Managed and mentored 25+ professionals, strengthening KPI ownership, referral generation and client engagement through structured coaching and reviews.
• Delivered a record milestone of $250,000+ in net monthly revenue during Covid-19 by shifting client engagement into virtual tours, online meetings and digital sales workflows.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to redesign sales and recruitment processes, applying data, risk and financial analysis to make decisions and enhance performance to drive sustainable business growth.

Sales Head - Prestige Holiday Resorts LLP (Karma Resorts) - Shimla, India

(2012-11 - 2019-06)

Multi-tenure November 2012 - Oct. 2016 and Nov. 2018 - June 2019

• Spearheaded Sales & Marketing teams, consistently achieving over 120% of budgeted sales targets by implementing structured training programs and stronger lead tracking systems.
• Improved sales presentation-to-lead ratio by 50%, optimising pipeline efficiency and earning top-performing onsite sales team recognition for three consecutive years.
• Increased the Average Selling Price by 28% through optimised sales pitches, value-added selling techniques, and tailored sales presentations that addressed specific customer needs.Top Performer in Real Estate Segment-Sale of Luxury Villas (Fractional Ownership), selling 100% more than the budgeted units to high-net-worth clients through effective engagement and utilising customer segmentation.
• Negotiated and structured a $3M resort acquisition, conducting due diligence, risk assessment and financial modelling to support the business case.

MSc - Finance - University of Strathclyde - Glasgow (2024-11)

Level 5 Diploma - Applied Finance - Amplify ME Boot Camp (2024-01)

B.A. - Economics - University of Mumbai (2010-05)