American Salon March 2012 : Page 26
Heart of the Matter I was lucky to be on hand at the National Redken Artist Connection in January (see page 122 for more details) when Christine Schuster shared that it would be her last official event as senior vice president of education worldwide for Redken, because she was about to take on a new role as senior vice president of education of the L’Oréal Professional Product Division U.S. (PPD). She’ll now be responsible for the long-term development of the education strategy for all PPD brands and SalonCentric and will also be working with each brand individually. It was a moving moment and tears were in no short supply. The crowd even gave her a standing ovation when she told them, “‘You can leave Redken, but Redken never really leaves you,’ as my good friend Ann Mincey likes to remind me.” Having worked alongside Christine—she in education and I in PR—at Redken’s former headquarters in Canoga Park, CA, I knew exactly where she was coming from. Redken is the place that instilled in us, and countless others who have worked there and have gone on to other companies in our great industry, to have profound respect for stylists and a genuine passion for the profession. To this day, it continues to be the reason why Christine, in her new role at PPD, and I, as the editor in chief of this magazine, are such big advocates of salon education. When I caught up with Christine later that night, I asked her to share her proudest moments over these last 20 years. Here are the highlights: • Creating The Exchange. “This allowed Redken to integrate not just a new forum Christine Schuster interviews Guido at the National Redken for advanced education, but also a more Artist Connection learner-based, personal approach to teaching that was new to the industry,” Christine says. “Today, The Exchange sees more than 2,000 beauty pros a year and contributes to the growth and development of hairdressers all over the world.” • Producing Redken Symposium for the last 13 years. “Nothing is more exciting than gathering 10,000 hairdressers from more than 40 countries in one spot to celebrate this industry, engage in intensive learning sessions across all areas of our business and have a great time,” Christine says. • Advancing the Redken and Pureology education and artist teams over the last 20 years. “Developing such a diversifi ed, talented and dedicated team of people committed to helping others and growing this industry is so rewarding,” Christine says. • Launching Hairdressers Against AIDS in the USA. “What an honor it is to chair such an important program that saves people’s lives through advocacy to create a world where people can live free from the stigma around HIV/AIDS,” she says. Not surprising, Christine’s fi nal thoughts got right to the heart of education. “It’s the key to success,” she says. “Any person who’s committed to lifelong learning has the ability to achieve any goal they set for themselves. Our greatest personal satisfactions come from learning something new. When learning takes place, we increase our capacity to grow.” ✂ —Kelley Donahue, editor in chief/ beauty director, kdonahue@questex.com . NEW Get clean hair in a flash with Aloxxi’s Dry Shampoo t Cleanses and refreshes without heavy residue feeling t Absorbs excess oils and impurities while maintaining hair’s condition t Protects color from UV damage PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF REDKEN
Editor
Kelley Donahue
Heart of the Matter<br /> I was lucky to be on hand at the National Redken Artist Connection in January (see page 122 for more details) when Christine Schuster shared that it would be her last official event as senior vice president of education worldwide for Redken, because she was about to take on a new role as senior vice president of education of the L’Oréal Professional Product Division U.S. (PPD). She’ll now be responsible for the long-term development of the education strategy for all PPD brands and SalonCentric and will also be working with each brand individually. It was a moving moment and tears were in no short supply. The crowd even gave her a standing ovation when she told them, “‘You can leave Redken, but Redken never really leaves you,’ as my good friend Ann Mincey likes to remind me.” Having worked alongside Christine—she in education and I in PR—at Redken’s former headquarters in Canoga Park, CA, I knew exactly where she was coming from. Redken is the place that instilled in us, and countless others who have worked there and have gone on to other companies in our great industry, to have profound respect for stylists and a genuine passion for the profession. To this day, it continues to be the reason why Christine, in her new role at PPD, and I, as the editor in chief of this magazine, are such big advocates of salon education. <br /> When I caught up with Christine later that night, I asked her to share her proudest moments over these last 20 years. Here are the highlights:<br /> • Creating The Exchange. “This allowed Redken to integrate not just a new forum for advanced education, but also a more learner-based, personal approach to teaching that was new to the industry,” Christine says. “Today, The Exchange sees more than 2,000 beauty pros a year and contributes to the growth and development of hairdressers all over the world.”<br /> • Producing Redken Symposium for the last 13 years. “Nothing is more exciting than gathering 10,000 hairdressers from more than 40 countries in one spot to celebrate this industry, engage in intensive learning sessions across all areas of our business and have a great time,” Christine says. <br /> • Advancing the Redken and Pureology education and artist teams over the last 20 years. “Developing such a diversified, talented and dedicated team of people committed to helping others and growing this industry is so rewarding,” Christine says. <br /> • Launching Hairdressers Against AIDS in the USA. “What an honor it is to chair such an important program that saves people’s lives through advocacy to create a world where people can live free from the stigma around HIV/AIDS,” she says.<br /> Not surprising, Christine’s final thoughts got right to the heart of education. “It’s the key to success,” she says. “Any person who’s committed to lifelong learning has the ability to achieve any goal they set for themselves. Our greatest personal satisfactions come from learning something new. When learning takes place, we increase our capacity to grow.” ✂ —Kelley Donahue, editor in chief/beauty director, kdonahue@questex.com.
