Asmar, Florian, and Kusy to Lead Inspirational Female Founders Panel at Women in Wellness West

Entrepreneurship will take center stage at American Spa’s West Coast Women in Wellness Leadership Conference as a panel of inspirational founders take the stage with moderator Julie Keller Callaghan, founder of the event and vice president of content and business development for Questex Wellness Group, to discuss the highlights and challenges of starting and running their own companies. Panelists include:

Noel Asmar

Noel Asmar, founder, president, and CEO of Noel Asmar Uniforms, is a Canadian designer who believes in the power of design. After a career in hotel management, she realized the way a uniform could empower and motivate the staff. Wanting to provide a better option than the ill-fitting and utilitarian-style uniforms she saw, she founded Noel Asmar Uniforms in 2002. Drawing on her decade in luxury hospitality, she identified opportunities to heighten team morale through innovative and purpose-driven designs, creating a fresh and modern approach to uniforms. Asmar is also on the board of directors for the International Spa Association (ISPA) and was selected to create the uniforms for the Canadian Equestrian Team for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. She also expanded her brand with the launch of her contemporary Equestrian Apparal label, Asmar Equestrian, in 2011. The company was recently awarded the 2019 ISPA Innovate Award

Kerstin Florian

Kerstin Florian, founder and CEO of Kerstin Florian International, was voted winner of the Industry Icon category in American Spa’s 2018 Women in Wellness Awards. The Swedish-born wellness pioneer recognized early on that spa was a lifestyle. After moving to California in the 1960s, she realized that U.S. skincare products lacked natural ingredients and real results. Understanding the transformative effects of wellness living, she created a new concept in skincare. She launched her namesake brand in 1978, and it can now be found in the world’s leading spas. More recently, she launched Anda, an organic, cruelty-free, vegan, and recyclable line relying on adaptogenic botanicals formulated to restore and sustain the skin. 

Rikki Kusy

Rikki Kusy, founder and CEO of DermaplanePro, graduated from ASU College of Education and Barrett Honor’s College summa cum laude and has more than 25 years of experience in training and education. She holds esthetic licenses in both Arizona and California. She founded the Arizona Aesthetics Association in 2006 to provide monthly networking and continuing education events to esthetic professionals and students in the state. She has experience working with several prominent plastic surgeons and was the owner of a med spa in Scottsdale. She is a highly regarded trainer and includes Lancer Dermatology Beverly Hills and PCA Skin among her list of clients. Her training programs are one-of-a-kind and are truly comprehensive in their multi-faceted approach to student success. All learning is experiential as well as didactic and provides for a real-world, hands-on approach that is easy implemented post-training. Her articles on dermaplaning have been published in industry trade journals. She lives in Reno, NV.

Taking place at The Waterfront Beach Resort Hotel, A Hilton Hotel (Huntington Beach, CA) on October 28, the event will address some of the most pressing issues facing women in the workplace today as well as the obstacles they face in launching and growing their businesses. These talented and gutsy women will share their stories, insights, and more about forging their own career paths and creating companies where women thrive. Additional panelists will be announced shortly. 

For more information or to register for American Spa’s West Coast Women in Wellness Leadership Conference, visit www.americanspawiw.com.

 

RELATED STORIES

Tara Grodjesk and Michael Tompkins To Lead Workshop at WIW West

Serial Entrepreneur and Author Jen Groover to Deliver Keynote at WIW West

Get Your Silent Disco On with the Center for Transformative Movement at WIW