The International Spa Association (ISPA) will present its 2017 ISPA Visionary Award to Sue Harmsworth at the 27th annual ISPA Conference & Expo at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas in October. The ISPA Visionary Award is presented each year to someone in the spa industry who has made significant contributions to both the definition and positive movement of health and wellness throughout the lifetime of their career. Harmsworth is the chairman and founder of ESPA International and has devoted her life to spa and wellness. During her career, she has led the industry by creating spas and helping to educate the industry on the impact of health and wellbeing on beauty. “Sue is recognized as one of the world’s leading spa experts,” says president Lynne McNees. “Her innovative, inspirational, and forward-thinking approach combined with her passion and vision helped shape the spa industry into what it is today. We are thrilled to be able to honor her achievements with this award.”
Harmsworth’s career began in health and beauty journalism before she opened a salon in Toronto, a Thalassotherapy resort in France, and a health farm in the UK. She has been responsible for the design, development, and management of more than 200 spas in 60 countries. The culmination of this knowledge and her visionary approach for what the spa industry should be offering led her to found ESPA in 1993 and develop ESPA’s natural product range. Working with experts in natural science, Harmsworth created ESPA’s product range powered by unique combinations of plant actives, marine actives, and essential oils. Also, Harmsworth was notably honored in 2010 with a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) from the Queen of England in recognition of her services to the spa and beauty industry. “I am thrilled to be receiving the award for what has been for me, simply my life passion,” says Harmsworth. “Right from the start, I was driven by an ambition to help people to understand the impact of health and wellness on beauty and to learn how to look and feel their very best. It is this passion that still inspires me today to keep pushing the boundaries of the spa industry and I am thrilled to be receiving the Visionary Award from ISPA who are such an iconic organization in the industry.”