First-ever Industry Leaders Roundtable
April 16, 2023 – Rosemont, IL Participants: Facilitator, Minter Dial; Phil Horvath of Chatters, Steve Reiss of Pivot Point, Reuben Carranza of Amika, Sue Trondson of Aveda, Lynelle Lynch of Bellus Schools, Jan Arnold of CND, Jane Wurwand of Dermalogica, Carolyn Aronson of It’s a 10, Filip Spacek of L’Oreal, Tatum Neill of Neill Corp, Pete Castellanos of Paul Mitchell, Robert Passage of Pivot Point, Christina Russell of Radiance Holdings, Michael Heines of Salon Service Group, Luke Massery of Scrip, Nick Stenson of Ulta, Anna Manukyan of Ulta, Karen Short of Universal Companies, Mary Atherton of Wella, Larry Silvestri of Tricoci, Charles Brown of CLICS, Tony Gordon of Gordon Salons, Brandon Hutchins of Beauty Industry Group, Bob Maconi of Meevo, Erik Bakken of Hair Cuttery, John Moroney of Olaplex, Megan Murray of Ulta, Victoria Gallo of Wella, Kristin Firrell of Paul Mitchell
Beauty Changes Lives, a member of the Unite as One (UAO) coalition of beauty and wellness associations, recently hosted a roundtable of leading industry executives in Chicago to address the job crisis facing the beauty and wellness industry. This marked the first time C-suite executives representing all segments of the industry – service (salons and spas), manufacturing, distribution, retail, and schools – have come together to collaborate on the issue. Facilitated by award-winning author, change-management futurist and former beauty executive Minter Dial, the executives validated the need to make the millions of young people already following beauty and wellness on social media aware of the wide range of career opportunities available.
The executives identified the advantages of the beauty and wellness industry over competing careers in aligning with the Next Gen’s core values of freedom, creativity, and purpose. Gen Z enters the post-pandemic workforce looking for flexibility, self-expression, meaningful work, diversity, and the ability to control earnings – all of which the beauty and wellness industry offers. To combat the outdated myths and stereotypes about the industry held by prospective professionals’ parents and career counselors, the group discussed the need to address the trade school stigma by showcasing the rigor and professionalism of the career, which calls for licensing and continuing education and provides its practitioners with a great living.
The executives were given an advance look at the Unite as One campaign – KNOW Beauty Secrets – a social media program designed to update perceptions of the industry by sharing real stories from beauty and wellness professionals. The roundtable was part of an industry advocacy weekend at Americas Beauty Show, which included the 100th Anniversary President’s Reception and ABS Global Image Awards, the Beauty Changes Lives Gala, and the official Town Hall launch of the KNOW Beauty Secrets campaign (knowbeautysecrets.org/pro).
