Shawn Abernathy, CPP, LPC

Experience

• 

  Sam's Club

  Aug 1991 - Oct 1993

  Hourly Associate

  Hourly positions including cashier, freezer and cooler stocking, and team leader responsibilities. Created schedules and evaluations, and maintained front end operations.

• 

  Sam's Club

  Jan 1994 - Apr 2009

  Responsible for sales and profit plans for 112 Sam’s Club Fresh Departments, including meat, deli, bakery, café, produce, and floral areas. Held responsibility for budgeting yearly sales, expenses, and profits, and monitoring performance. Evaluated shrink reduction efforts, internal operations, quality assurance, financial expectations, food safety, and operational efficiency. Analyzed wages, overtime, supplies, damages, and controllable expenses, taking advantage of commodity pricing and availability. Utilized membership data to align assortment and educate merchandisers on consumer preferences. Created and developed short and long-term plans, and hired and educated managers. Coordinated with merchandise directors, developing special sales initiatives. Planned focuses, goals, and objectives, and spearheaded expense reductions. Involved in external market analysis, business plan development, and operation of pilot projects. Collaborated with replenishment and logistics on forecasting and in-stock goals. Show less Held responsibility for developing strategies in asset protection, premise security, CCTV, compliance, safety, investigations, and risk management for all 120 Sam's Clubs in Northeastern region. Developed and managed capital and expense budgets for the division. Sourced new security products and initiated plans for implementation. Ensured adherence to corporate policies, and directly supervised 12 district loss-prevention managers and 50 in-store associates. Analyzed causes of shrink and loss, and implemented preventive measures. Managed and implemented policies for workplace violence, surveillance, access control, and emergency response systems. Developed programs and risk management initiatives. Coordinated with legal, operations, and quality assurance team, and advised peers on proper field investigation protocol. Oversaw training and development, and participated in judicial proceedings. Planned and coordinated business continuity efforts for hurricanes, fires, and other impacts to the company. Assisted with crisis management in situations of extreme loss, death, and catastrophic events. Implemented policies for compliance with governmental regulations at the local, state, and federal level. Worked closely with information technology division on information security measures. Developed and promoted several associates into asset protection, CCTV and operations roles.Reduced shrink from .32% to .24% across 120 clubs, saving company over $7,000,000 between 2002 and 2005.Recipient of Divisional Safety Award for top performance in accident reduction and cost savings.Completed one-year course through Executive Development Center (EDC). Show less Oversaw asset protection, compliance, safety, investigations, and risk management initiatives for 15 Sam's Clubs in Tampa and Atlanta. Planned and implemented premise liability and security measures in all Clubs in area of responsibility. Coordinated internal and external theft investigations, and held responsibility for prosecution of misdemeanors and felony charges. Cooperated with law enforcement agencies, soliciting assistance with criminal cases. Analyzed causes of shrink and loss, and implemented preventive measures. Coordinated safety and risk management initiatives, and led hiring, training, and development. Communicated with legal department, and followed up on key profit and loss items weekly, including damages, cash shortages, un-collectable checks, credit card fraud, and compliance fines.Recipient of Rookie of the Year award in 1995, for outstanding performance and Loss Prevention Manager of the Year award in 1999, for shrink reduction, accident reduction, and additional contributions.Reduced shrink in Atlanta, Georgia by $1,100,000 over 12-month period.Coordinated over 150 theft investigations, and presented findings at divisional meetings. Show less

  • Regional Fresh Director

    Jan 2006 - Apr 2009

  • Director, Asset Protection Region D

    Jan 2000 - Jan 2006

  • District Loss Prevention Manager

    Jan 1994 - Jan 2000
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  Target

  Nov 2009 - Nov 2019

  Responsible for leading all Assets Protection, ORC and Internal Theft Investigations, Safety and Security initiatives and teams for 75 Target Stores in TX and LA through driving a prevention-first culture addressing operational losses and theft / fraud. Supervise 7 Assets Protection District Business Partners and 1 Market Investigator. Prioritized and drove continuous improvement in the areas impacting profit, compliance and risk. Developed a safe and secure environment focused on incident prevention and efficient response by collaboration with group partners. Improved profitability by supporting store-based asset protection teams with resolution of theft incidents. Managed yearly budgets and payroll and coordinated talent acquisition processes for the team. Developed and maintained strong community involvement through law enforcement, retail, public safety, and emergency management partnerships. Led and coordinated on site Crisis Response for Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Baton Rouge Floods in Louisiana, and Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana in addition to numerous crisis-related events throughout the market. Show less Led the Investigations teams for 65 Target Stores in 7 states through driving an identification and resolution culture addressing internal and external ORC theft. Developed multiple local, state, and federal law enforcement partnerships throughout the Southeastern US. Led mobile and district based investigations teams to leverage company programs to minimize theft and fraud. Identified and resolved opportunities through incident reporting and AP technology through working closely with the Target Investigations Centers and Forensics Labs. Managed yearly budget and coordinated talent acquisition process for the team. Assisted with the creation of Organized Retail Crime Associations and Fusion Center partnerships in several markets. Show less

  • Assets Protection Director

    Aug 2011 - Nov 2019

  • Investigations Team Leader

    Nov 2009 - Aug 2011
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  Amazon

  Nov 2019 - now

  Responsible for hiring, developing, and leading 10 members of the Field Investigations Team for all Amazon field locations in the US, Canada, and Mexico. This includes fulfillment centers, cross-docks, return centers, delivery stations, sort centers, and R2L locations. Develop ongoing strategy and standard work for intake and disposition of all field internal and external theft and fraud investigations. Develop and support LP investigative programs, training, and strategy. Provide oversight of the investigations program by leveraging information from internal reporting, data analysis, LP reported incidents, and trends. Work collaboratively with the Amazon Strategic Investigations Solutions Team in eCommerce, Supply Chain, and Occupational Fraud to support overall department investigative efforts. Develop field partnerships with Security & Loss Prevention, Legal, Ethics, law enforcement, and other organizations to identify and investigate theft trends and offenders. Define and execute Investigations scope, goals, and deliverables that support senior management and stakeholder goals. Show less Responsible for leading the Fulfillment Center and Retail Investigations Team's efforts to provide investigation and resolution services for the protection of people, product and data for Amazon. Responsible for hiring and developing Investigation Managers and Specialists and managing investigation and ORC programs to deliver profitability through shrink improvement. Develops the strategy for investigations within Amazon Fulfillment and retail centers, to include NACF, Return Centers, IXD, and physical store Retail Formats. Leads and coordinates Recovery & Restitution efforts for Amazon NA, Canada, and Mexico. Supports and leads the Restitution and Recovery Program for Amazon Loss Prevention. Coordinates and leads investigative services to include support of LP standards, LP project enhancements, and external partner investigative programs. Show less

  • Sr. Manager, Field Investigations - Amazon Security & Loss Prevention

    Apr 2024 - now

  • Sr. Manager - Amazon Investigations - Fulfillment, Retail, Recovery, and Investigative Services

    Mar 2022 - Apr 2024

  • Sr. Program Manager of Fulfillment, Retail, Recovery & Investigative Services, Amazon

    Nov 2021 - Feb 2022

  • Manager of Fulfillment Investigations

    Nov 2019 - Oct 2021