John Heffner’s career is built on multi-faceted experience with premier companies: Procter & Gamble, Chesebrough-Ponds (Unilever), Creative Nail Design (Revlon), OPI (Coty), and currently, with DryBar.Often referred to as the “Founder Whisperer”, John pays his success forward by sharing his experience and passion with aspiring entrepreneurs. His strong record of sales results, leading edge marketing, trade marketing, and hands on general management uniquely qualifies him to head the Drybar organization. In addition to his experience in corporate leadership, John has also played instrumental roles in a number of non-profit boards including the PBA (Professional Beauty Association) where he served as Chairman in 2006/2007, the City of Hope hospital and research center, and the NSWFF (Naval Special Warfare Family Foundation) which raised funds for the special needs of Navy SEAL families.
John is also the recipient of the highest honor in the professional beauty industry. The City of Hope “Spirit of Life” award, presented to one beauty industry executive each year. John led an annual campaign in which $1.4 million was raised for breast cancer research.
John and his wife of 25 years, Kristine reside in San Diego and their two sons Andrew and Christopher are both in college.
In his spare time, John pursues his passion for music, exploring his extensive collection and studying the history of rock, blues, and Americana genres.
Celeste Hilling, Founder of Skin Authority, has created a company with a tech-savvy, personalized approach to skin health – along with a “do good” business model from the bottom up that her partners and consumers can feel proud to support.
Throughout her life, Hilling watched firsthand how friends and family members lives were impacted by skin disease. Celeste saw an opportunity to create a company that not only took advantage of new technology for prevention and protection of skin health, but also provided expert guidance and coaching to address each person’s unique skin needs. Most importantly, she wanted people to experience the self confidence that comes from feeling great about how they look.
Hilling broke the glass ceiling when she became one of the first female officers of a Fortune 25 Tech company as Vice President of Compaq’s Consumer Division Worldwide, leading a $20 Billion business which spanned 42 countries and over 14,000 employees. She decided to put her technology background to work to develop health-inspired products and deeply personalize the experience by providing every customer with virtual access to their own skin coach As Hilling built each aspect of the company, she looked at how Skin Authority could make an impact:
Health Inspired Product Technology: Hilling teamed with leading research and biotech leaders to translate science breakthroughs in “living well longer” from lab to commercial products which could be more widely accessible to improve consumers daily lives and skin health. This resulted in licensing patented technology new to skin care categories for skin regeneration and environmental well being: SGF-4, Vita D Infused, Topical Superfoods, Fear Free Peel and SkinSuit
Workforce: Hilling built a cloud-based Skin Coaching system that allows the company’s skin professionals to coach remotely. The professional workforce consists of many single parents who can’t work weekends or nights; Skin Authority gives them an opportunity that fits their lifestyle and enables them to stay in the industry.
Community: To build and assemble Skin Authority’s product kits, she partnered with local groups that employs people with mental, physical or other challenges and gives them meaningful life skills.
Philanthropy: Hilling is personally passionate about providing every child with the ability to develop critical thinking skills through play and the arts to be the next generation of innovators. So she served as development chair to raise funds for the building of the San Diego New Children’s Museum; where she then became Chair and a Board Member for over 10 years. Community engagement led Celeste to being Co-Chair and Honorary Member of the Advisory Board of Scripps Memorial Hospital of La Jolla, California, a founding board member of Doctors Offering Charitable Services (DOCS), and past board member of the Boards of the International Spa Association and ISPA Foundation. Her impact as a female business leader has resulted in recognition and awards ranging from Most Admired CEO by SD Business Journal, Women Who Move the City by San Diego Magazine, Women Who Mean Business by San Diego Business Journal, Woman of the Year by San Diego Magazine, Spirit of Giving Award from United Cerebral Palsy (UCP)
Being in beauty and well-being, Celeste Hilling is a recognized media expert on skin care science and technology trends. Hilling shares her passion for improving global skin health as a public speaker and expert resource for top outlets including “The Doctors”, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Huffington Post and The New York Times in addition to hosting the Beauty Workout segment on Fox 5 and Beauty Workout Channel on YouTube.
