1. FERNANDO ESCALONA
762 E Confederate Ave SE, Atlanta, Georgia, 30312
770-598-4263 | escalona.fernando@gmail.com | www.linkedin.com/in/escalonafernando
TEXTBOOK SALES / ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
10+ years of experience with exceptional knowledge of the textbook industry and the academic world
High-energy, dedicated salesperson with proven history of building long-lasting and lucrative
relationships with faculty and college administrators.
Determined and hard-working professional who consistently over-achieves goals and overcomes tough
challenges. Complimented by colleagues and managers on work ethic, integrity, communication skills,
customer service standards and sales acumen.
Performance Review Extracts
“Fernando is one of the most dependable and valued employees I have ever had the pleasure of
working with. He is a self starter that is always seeking work to do and is always first to
volunteer for a task.” -- M ando Quetel (Performance review 2005)
“Fernando has truly been a big asset to the store team with his tenacity for knowledge and
bountiful energy.” -- Ameerah Dean (Performance review 2008)
“You are a wealth of knowledge and I would not have made it the past few months
without you.” -- DelShaun Hudson (Performance Review 2014)
Career History
FOLLETT, (Spelman College Bookstore location), Atlanta, Georgia 2007 to present
Leading campus retailer and textbook wholesaler with over 1,200 stores in the country
Course Materials Manager | Interim General Manager 2014
Lead team of between 5-10 to manage course materials department operations at busy campus bookstore.
Recruit and train team members, hold accountability for 500K sales target, and manage textbook orders to
ensure accurate and timely availability of textbooks. Work closely with faculty, students and publishers on
adoptions, selection, and buyback.
 Boosted course adoption rate 22% by replacing manual process with database/email system , and by
improving outreach to faculty and academic departments.
 Personally built strong relationships with academic staff, developing a clear understanding of their
needs and concerns, and presenting new products and programs on a regular basis.
 Boosted used textbook sales 8% by improving buyback rates; promoted buyback events through a
variety of channels in order to ensure all students were aware of the program.
 Transformed customer service performance by facilitating new hire training that includes role playing,
team games and visual presentations; as a result, the store has achieved the region’s best online
customer reviews, and security has improved.
 Cut shrink more than 50% by analyzing situation, identifying issues in shipping and receiving, improving
training, and overhauling processes; brought worst performing store to above-average performance as a
result.
As Interim General Manager:
 Served as interim General M anager for 8 months while also maintaining all regula r responsibilities.
Led team of10 with accountability for over $1.5M in annual sales.
 M et all performance metrics while reducing payroll costs. Earned two bonuses as a result.

2. FERNANDO ESCALONA, Page 2
FOLLETT - Georgia Perimeter College Bookstore at Clarkston, Clarkston, Georgia 2007
Shipping & Receiving Supervisor / Key Holder
Transferred as member of new management team charged with leading store through a period of change
including new systems, new location and dramatic increase in online orders. Supervised 3 employees and
held various management responsibilities including opening and closing, ordering supplies and training new
associates.
 Completely eliminated online order backlog that had plagued the store; established new processes,
increased the number of Fed-Ex pick-ups, provided training to employees, and worked overtime until the
backlog was cleared.
 Facilitated smooth transition to new enterprise-wide system (CourseTracks); quickly learned all modules
and functions and then developed storewide training program with completion schedules for each
associate.
 Assumed interim Course M aterials M anager responsibilities following sudden resignation of prior
manager during extremely busy period; coordinated with faculty to minimize problems and earned thanks
and praise from management.
FOLLETT - Rockdale, Georgia 2006 to 2007
Store Supervisor
M anaged small staff in satellite location. Trained employees, managed ordering and inventory control,
provided customer service, oversaw shipping and receiving, and merchandis ed the store. Charged with
turning around under-performance through sound management.
 Restored damaged reputation of struggling store by conducting campus outreach, improving inventory
management, and providing high-level of customer service.
 Dramatically improved inventory control and virtually eliminated shrink, with inventory count coming in at
within 0.05% of expected count (the best the store had ever achieved).
Positions held during college studies:
Sales Associate/Course M aterials Lead (2004 to 2006) - Follett (Georgia Perimeter College Bookstore at
Clarkston)
Education & Additional Information
Associates of Arts in History, May 2006
GEORGIA PERIMETER COLLEGE, Clarkston, GA
 Graduated Cum Laude
 GPA 3.88
 2006 Winner of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship.
 Phi Theta Kappa since M ay 2005
Associates in Business Administration, May 1996
UNIVERSIDAD DE LA CORUNA, La Coruna, Spain
Computer Skills: Proficient in Outlook, Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese