Charles Torrez Joins Spring Air as Director of Learning and Development

June 24, 2019  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

Torrez, who has spent more than a decade in sales management and sales training at bedding specialty retailers Sleep Train and Mattress Firm, will help extend Spring Air’s corporate vision for assisting its reps in conducting more efficient store visits with retail partners. 

“Because of Charlie’s extensive retail experience, he understands the needs of dealers and retail sales associates, and can consistently convey our message throughout the organization,” said Nick Bates, president of Spring Air International. “To continue to grow our brand, it’s vital for everyone to be on the same page.”

Torrez, who reports to Bates, is responsible for training the sales team at each Spring Air factory on products, branding and marketing plans, and he also will work with each licensee’s sales team to train retail partners and retail sales associates. 

Since 2017, Torrez had been director of divisional talent planning and field development for Mattress Firm, where he oversaw sales training and leadership development for 700 stores in the Mid-Atlantic region. During that time, he updated and re-launched a quarterly sales performance program that resulted in a 20 percent sales increase across the division, and reduced voluntary turnover from 50 percent to 30 percent in one year.

From 2015 to 2017, he was regional development director for the Mountain West region of Mattress Firm, and from 2007 to 2015, he served as district sales manager for the West division of Sleep Train, which was acquired by Mattress Firm in 2014. 

A resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, Torrez has completed the Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt program. He also worked on behalf of the Ticket to Dream Foundation, a non-profit group that supports foster children across the U.S., since 2008.