Lynelle, an accomplished visionary and entrepreneur, took over as President and Owner of Bellus Academy in August of 2005. Lynelle’s fresh perspective on the beauty and wellness education business allowed her to revolutionize beauty education offering advanced education that was unprecedented in beauty school education and career development. Today the Bellus Academy offers 17 programs and an articulation agreement for a Health and Beauty Associate Degree. Throughout Lynelle’s career, she has been active in numerous civic and charitable causes serving on 16 Boards of Directors, including the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS) executive board and is the president and a founding member of BCL.

Robert is Chairman, CEO & Global Ambassador of Pivot Point International Inc. He has been active in cosmetology education for more than 22 years, 46 years if you consider he was born and raised in the business. He is a licensed cosmetologist, licensed cosmetology instructor and holds a degree in business from Loyola University in Chicago. Robert has served on the AACS board since 1995 and has served on numerous committees during his tenure. He has also served on the IACS (IL Association of Cosmetology Schools) board as past president and continues to serve his state association today. He is also involved on numerous industry committees including CC (Cosmetologists Chicago), PBA (Professional Beauty Association) and ACCRED (Advisory Council on Cosmetology Relations and Education).

Jan is the Co-founder and Style Director of CND® and the daughter of Dr. Stuart Nordstrom, the brilliant dentist and organic chemist whose discoveries launched the company in 1979. Her experience as a brand engineer has contributed to the success of CND® as a worldwide company and her personal sense of style makes her the high-fashion face behind the brand. One need only look to New York Fashion Week to see Jan and CND’s many accomplishments. CND’s top nail pros have manicured runway models and started trends during Fashion Weeks in cities such as New York, London, Paris and Sydney for more than 18 years. CND® has collaborated with some of fashion’s most desirable designers such as Alexander Wang, Creatures of the Wind, Jason Wu, Phillip Lim and The Blonds just to name a few. As a result, nails have become the ultimate fashion accessory for women around the world.

Phil Horvath was named President of Floyd’s 99 Barbershops in March of 2021.  Floyd’s is the largest premium barbershop group in the United States with 120 locations in 13 states.   Phil has more than 25 years of beauty and salon industry experience, having worked as President and COO of Ratner Companies (dba Hair Cuttery) the past 4 years.  Prior to that he worked as an Operations executive at Ulta Beauty for 17 years.  Phil has experience in leading aggressive growth in both the service and retail sides of the hair salon business. Prior to Ulta Beauty, he held positions in the Supercuts division of Regis Corporation. He began his professional beauty career at Denver-based Calco Hair, Inc., serving President of the family business. Phil was raised in a family of hair salon professionals.  Phil’s vast knowledge of all aspects of the salon business and his ability to think strategically has made him a sought-after executive in the Beauty industry. His experience and results-oriented approach with both small and large companies has driven positive results for each company for which he has worked.  Phil has a passion for this industry. He understands the importance of focusing on the development of its people and holds the core belief that we can help others achieve their dreams and goals. For Phil, business has to be about purpose and people and then prosperity will follow.  Phil and his wife live in Ashburn, VA. He has three teenaged sons. Having grown up in Colorado, he is an avid skier.

Tate is the President and CEO of Make-up Designory. He has worked in make-up education and cosmetic sales, manufacturing, and distribution for the last 25 years. For the past 19 years, he has been the President and CEO of Make-Up Designory (MUD). While at MUD, he has overseen the successful implementation of the company’s two highly regarded vocational schools for professional make-up artistry, in Los Angeles and New York. While under his watch, the company has developed and distributes a full line of color cosmetics, and developed an educational program shared with over 50 MUD Studios and MUD Partner Schools around the world. Along with his work responsibilities, Mr. Holland is active in local community affairs. He is a past President of CAPPS, the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools, a former member of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, the Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Newhall School District Measure K oversight committee, and a founding member of Burbank Arts for All. Mr. Holland holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the American University in Washington, DC.

Christine is the Senior Vice President of Education for the L’Oreal USA Professional Products Division (PPD). Christine is responsible for the long-term strategic development of the education strategy for all PPD brands (Kerastase, Shu Uemura, L’Oreal Professionnel, Redken, Pureology, Matrix, Mizani, Essie, L’Oreal Technique, Baxter of California, Decleor and Carita) and the professional beauty product distribution center, SalonCentric. She also works with each brand and SalonCentric on the day-to-day management of the education department. Christine started her career in cosmetology at the age of 18 when she graduated cosmetology school and moved to Europe to work as a hairdresser. She joined Redken in 1991 working the Chicago market as a Redken District Sales Educator. Christine’s unique abilities and passion for the hairdressing community quickly propelled her through several positions including Manager, International Education (1993), Director, Redken Exchange (1995), Senior Director, Exchange, Shows, Events (1998) and AVP, Redken Education Worldwide (1999). Christine’s vision and strong strategic planning skills led her to be appointed to Senior VP, Redken and Pureology Education Worldwide – a position she held up until her current role as Senior VP of Education for PPD.

Elisa Fischer serves as the TIGI® General Manager for the Americas. A dedicated advocate for hairdressers and proven innovator and leader in the professional salon industry, Elisa leads a passionate hairdresser-centric company, created by hairdressers, for hairdressers. Her mission is to continue to elevate the professional industry and help create a brighter future for aspiring hairdressers. Prior to joining TIGI®, one of Unilever’s most exciting brands, Elisa spent almost 12 years with the L’Oreal Professional Products Division in several capacities including Vice President of Marketing for Matrix, where she was instrumental in regaining the trust and engagement of Matrix salons and hairdressers. She launched a major industry student initiative, “Spread the Love” and brought to life the tagline, “Imagine All You Can Be” throughout the US market. In Elisa’s final role with L’Oreal, she served Vice President of Sales for Redken and Pureology, leading one of the largest sales teams in the industry. Elisa has great passion for the haircare business, and throughout her professional life, she has managed to forge strong relationships with hairdressers, key accounts and senior professionals and has shown consistent growth in all of her roles.

April spent over twenty-five years with DBE/CosmoProf Beauty and still gets ridiculously excited about new products. She developed strategies for chain salon and school partners to improve efficiency and profitability while positively impacting the student and stylist community. April is particularly proud of joint efforts that have raised large sums for charitable organizations. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. In her free time you can usually find her on the back of a horse or traveling the world with a beloved circle of family and friends.

Nicknamed ‘The Balay Lama®’, Candy literally grew up in the beauty business as the daughter of Jamison Shaw, a former world-champion competition hairdresser, and Sara Shaw, a professional make-up artist. Candy’s been a hairdresser and educator all her adult life with over 35 years experience. Candy owns Jamison Shaw Hairdressers®, a third-generation, fifty-year-young, 5,000 square-foot, 50-chair salon in Atlanta, Georgia. Candy still works ‘behind the chair’ and with the aid of between four and six assistants sees up to 35 guests each day. Candy is regarded as the world’s foremost authority on balayage education. She founded The Academy at Jamison Shaw, an advanced training facility teaching French Cutting and Balayage Highlighting, more than twenty years ago. In 2014, Candy launched a professional product line called Sunlights Balayage, the makers and purveyors of the world’s leading balayage products and education. The line features SUNLIGHTS® Professionnel Balayage Lightener, a proprietary, state-of-the-art, kaolin clay based lightener specifically formulated for balayage, and THE BALAY BOX®, the ‘complete balayage class in a box’ containing everything a stylist needs to master balayage. Referred to as ‘the world’s fastest growing, most recognizable hair color brand,’ SUNLIGHTS is available in over a dozen countries. Candy has recently headlined international hair shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Cape Town, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Toronto as well as New York and Los Angeles.

Tom Kuhn is CEO/Founder of Qnity; a global learning, development and consulting company that helps businesses and their teams prosper.  Through their signature simple and visual approach, Qnity’s core programs and visual-learning tools lead to transformative results in growth, engagement, leadership, execution and profitability. Qnity’s proprietary training and tools have been used with thousands of salons and spas of all sizes, as well as well as Fortune 500 companies, such as Estee Lauder, J.P. Morgan/Chase, Merrill/Bank of America, JCPenney, and Ulta. As a former CPA, and former multi-location salonspa owner himself, Tom’s also been known as a “turnaround expert” specializing in advising salons, spas and other businesses on profitability and financial management. Tom Kuhn is also the Founder/CEO of the 2to10 Project, an invite-only collaborative specializing in benchmarking, data and best practices for salons and spas with between 2-10 locations. Tom’s personal mission is to elevate the prosperity and financial literacy of the salon and spa or small business community; allowing for higher profits and a greater level of prosperity for businesses, their stakeholders and their teams.

Karen is Chief Operating Officer for Universal Companies, a wholesale distributor, who for more than 35 years, has served thousands of spa and wellness professionals in 47 countries.  Prior to assuming the role of CEO, Karen was SVP Sales & Marketing, responsible for all direct sales, marketing and education initiatives.  As CEO, Karen’s objective is to foster a culture of entrepreneurial change and growth with primary focus on the customer. She leads a team of professionals who continually identify products and solutions for spa and wellness professionals and leverage digital technology to deliver customer value. Prior to joining Universal, Karen had an extensive background in executive leadership in the hospitality industry and built a successful track record of executing aggressive growth strategies ranging from sales-focused and market-driven organizations to growth through mergers and acquisitions. She has held executive positions with a range of customer centric organizations including President and Chief Hospitality Officer of Quintess Collections, Founder and Chair of InnPerspectives Inc., Director of Sales and Marketing Meadowood Napa Valley, and Vice President of Sales Aspen Skiing Company. She has also served on number of Boards including Beauty Changes Lives, Past Chair for the Green Spa Network, Napa Valley Visitors and Conference Bureau and Aspen Resort Association.

David Raccuglia is a trained barber, salon owner, entrepreneur, professional photographer, creative director, and beauty industry executive. David is best known for being the founder of American Crew – the leading men’s professional grooming brand which pioneered the modern men’s professional grooming industry. His hands-on and creatively driven leadership in building the American Crew brand has led to an over 25-year success and growth track record.

Janet Williams, Founder of Progressive Discoveries, LLC., is a strategic consultant who takes a culturally intelligent approach to fostering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI-B) at work.

Janet has grown deep roots in the beauty space; having served a number of years as the Director of a prominent Cosmetology and Esthiology school in Washington, DC. She is a Certified CQ & Unconscious Bias Facilitator through the Cultural Intelligence Center, serves as a member of the Cultural Intelligence Committee with the “Unite As One” Beauty Industry Think Tank, and is a member of the Professional Beauty Industry Compensation Study Think Tank.