The Professional Beauty Association (PBA) hosted the second annual PBA Executive Summit in Scottsdale, Ariz. at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia on December 3-4, 2015. The two-day event titled, The Changing Consumer Experience, brought 135 industry executives from over 80 professional beauty companies together to learn, network, and experience presentations from three field-expert speakers.
Attending companies included Aquage, Armstrong McCall, Helen of Troy, Joico, Kao USA Inc., Living Proof, Luxury Brand Partners, SalonCentric, Pravana and more.
“The Professional Beauty Association (PBA) created the Executive Summit with the focus of bringing our industry leaders together to network and learn from thought leaders outside of the professional beauty. This year focused on the correlation between changes we are experiencing in our industry and purchasing decisions made by consumers and the increasing millennials presence,” said PBA Executive Director, Steve Sleeper. “Even though the focus of the event was on making connections in the digital space, nothing replaces the opportunity to connect in-person. The energy in the room speaks volumes for the impact this event had on our attendees.”
The event began Thursday with a reception and welcome message from PBA’s Chair of the Manufacturer Advisory Council, Harlan Kirschner. Friday’s educational event began with PBA Board Chairman and Group President of R+Co and V76, Luxury Brand Partners, Reuben Carranza, setting the stage for the day and later moderating a speaker panel.
Executive Summit speakers included Terry Jones, Founder and former President and CEO of Travelocity.com, Lauren deLisa Coleman, Mobile Strategy Specialist & Analyst, and Scott McKain, Founder & CEO of the Distinction Institute. Each speaker focused on the mind of the consumer. Jones kicked off the event by giving the audience key points on building a culture of innovation within their business. Coleman continued the topic speaking about the mind of millennials and how to use a digital strategy to create an impactful message. In closing, McKain shared steps on how to differentiate your company within the competitive marketplace.
Speaker Quotes from the Event:
"It isn't only about what's happening directly in your business, it's about what's happening upstream and downstream. You need a culture of innovation in order to deepen your digital relationships and a team that supports it. It's important to remember, without risk and without failure there is no progress." - Terry Jones, Founder and former President and CEO of Travelocity.com
“The three E's of engagement for millennials are: enable, entice and enroll. Millennials are a diverse group of tech savvy consumers driven by social responsibility and a strong sense of self-empowerment, or what I call a leaderful mindset. Thus, awareness of these new values, mindset, and demographic makeup are absolutely key for executives and entrepreneurs who want to truly engage the millennial and establish trust in order to partake in what Forbes magazine confirms as collective $200 billion dollar annual spending power." - Lauren deLisa Coleman, Mobile Strategy Specialist & Analyst
“Organizations often overlook customers because they're concentrating on their competition. This strategy can destroy you. If all you’re doing today is what you did yesterday, it’s a recipe for failure. Being ‘great’ is no longer good enough to grow your business. It’s the price of entry. You must be asking, 'What does it take to stand out?’ Your primary focus should be on how you can create distinction in your marketplace.” - Scott McKain, Founder & CEO of the Distinction Institute.
About: The Professional Beauty Association (PBA) advances the professional beauty industry by providing our members with education, charitable outreach, government advocacy, events and more. Probeauty is the largest organization of salon professionals with members representing salons/spas, distributors, manufacturers and beauty professionals/NCA .