The Professional Beauty Association (PBA), the largest and most inclusive trade organization representing the entire beauty industry, just completed the 8th annual Executive Summit, where over 300 of the beauty industry’s thought leaders, top executives and leading salon owners united for an in-depth exploration to drive the beauty industry forward through a look at trends, innovations, and how future-forward thinking is reshaping the professional beauty industry.

Featuring Kaihan Krippendorff, author, business strategist and advisor to top corporations; John DiJulius, a leading authority on world-class customer experience; Gordon Miller, Hairbrained CEO; an industry panel of experts, including: Gino Barbo, CEO, Salon Service Group; Tiffany Walden, COO, Olaplex; Jessica Phillips, VP Merchandising, Ulta Beauty; Rodrick Samuels, Director of Education, Hair Lab Detroit Barber School and Andis Educator; Lauren Moser Samuels, Academy Director, Hair Lab Detroit Barber School; and Nina Daily, PBA’s Executive Director. These industry leaders sparked conversations on being United By Beauty and creating the future.

The sold-out event kicked off with the PBA 2021 Industry Insight Report, sharing information on the recovery of the industry in the wake of COVID. Some findings included:

Demand has increased for key services from a year ago, including a 32% increase in haircut and haircolor visits
One-third of those surveyed expect a continued demand increase in 2022
71% of salon and spa professionals are committed to their profession, up from 66% in 2020

The future focused takeaways continued throughout the day and included:

The fourth option. The innovative option that no one has thought of or acted upon. Innovators recognize the moment their competitors have stopped thinking and see an opportunity to go beyond the obvious and look for a “4th option”, says Kaihan Krippendorff.
Be customer experience strong. According to speaker John DiJulius, we need to become obsessed with evolving the customer experience by prioritizing our cultures and making service the strongest competitive advantage.
Be conscious of what business you say you are in. Whether you are cutting hair or delivering service, Kaihan Krippendorff advises you to be aware of what business you are in and use it to define your strategy.
We are stronger together. Look for opportunities to help grow and mentor future professionals and build a foundation for career longevity. Listen to up-and-coming professionals for new and creative concepts and be open to new ideas.

The event was sponsored by some of the top brands in the industry. The opening reception was sponsored by L’Anza, Mazur Group, John Paul Mitchell Systems and SalonClouds+; breakfast by Kao; lunch by Henkel; and the closing reception by Moroccanoil.

With executives representing some of the biggest and most innovative companies in the professional beauty industry, including: amika, Andis, Beauty Quest Group, Great Clips, Henkel, JC Penney Salon, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Kao, Kevin.Murphy, L’Anza, Living Proof, L’Oreal, Mazur Group, Moroccanoil, Neill Corporation, Olaplex, Phorest, SalonClouds+, Pivot Point, SalonCentric, Sola Salons, Sports Clips, Ulta, Wahl, Wella, and more, the conference was not only filled with inspiring takeaways, but also endless networking opportunities.

For event images, please visit:

https://probeauty.smugmug.com/PBA-Executive-Summit/2021/

*Please credit “Professional Beauty Association” on all images used.

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