You Can Only Lead, as Far as You Grow

By Louise May

‘You can only lead, as far as you grow’ epitomises TONI&GUY Australia’s newly appointed CEO, Sara Langford. Starting her career in the Hairdressing Industry as an apprentice, Sara has paved a journey that has growth, people and culture at the heart of what she does.

A driving force behind Sara’s leadership style is her understanding and ability to decode the way her teams think, improving how they work together and amplifying what they accomplish. Sara has intertwined her knowledge from her time studying an Education/ Psychology Degree, now embarking on her MBA along with her experience as a Hairdresser, manager, and Business Owner to effectively promote thinking agility, teamwork, and leadership.

Wearing many hats throughout her career has allowed Sara to gain the knowledge and skill set that only stems from immersion in all facets of the business. From running a busy column colouring hair, to working closely with management teams, Sara has accumulated the tools and acumen to effectively run a profitable, sustainable business where people love to work, and clients love to be.

Over to you Sara…

MY TONI&GUY JOURNEY

Believe it or not, my journey with TONI&GUY started as an apprentice! After I completed my training, I pursued other endeavours in the hair industry, including managing a group of salons in London and heading up their Education. I returned home to Australia and went into partnership with a dear friend and bought into her salon.

Like many others, Dennis and I crossed paths in the weird and wonderful world that is the Hair Industry. It didn’t take much convincing and before I knew it, I was part of the TONI&GUY family.

Dennis’ passion was infectious, he lived and breathed the TONI&GUY essence - and I wanted to be part of it too. When I parted ways with my business partner I purchased the Bondi Junction salon, just like everyone else I went through the traditional technical Varder process so I could be educated with the TONI&GUY techniques. - nothing was handed to me on a silver platter.

Vardering was a little daunting at first, but the skills and techniques I learnt were invaluable and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Varder has now taken on a new form to be more flexible and bespoke to each person, it’s never been about retraining. The true purpose is to empower each new teammate with new collections and techniques to add to their repertoire.

In the last 4 years I gradually stepped the stones into the TONI&GUY Australia Support Office - all whilst running two salons and a busy column of clients. I quickly realised that Dennis’ energy, business values and for helping other Hairdressers build successful businesses was in line with my values and professional goals - and I would now do this too by his side.

I transitioned away from being on the salon floor every day and focused on developing the people, culture, and growth arm of our business. I feel so grateful that over the years Dennis imparted his wisdom and his mentorship to me - I just wish he was able to witness his ultimate plan come to fruition.

KEY MEMBERS BEHIND THE BRAND

Marie - General Manager

There are a few diamonds within TONI&GUY that have been with the brand since its inception in Australia. Starting with TONI&GUY as an Apprentice, Marie stepped the stones to become one of TONI&GUY Australia’s most successful Salon Partners, Technical support a leading colour brand and now to General Manager of the company.

With a reputation for her ability to run a salon like no other, and her warm approachable personality, Marie is the fundamental support pillar to TONI&GUY Salons. Marie plays a pivotal role in mentoring not only our Salon Partners but our Staff too through the creation and implementation of programs that focus on enriching our people with the tools and skills to be effective communicators, leaders, business owners and colleagues.

Salon Partners

Nothing we do is possible without the salon partners that lead our salons and teams. We have partners that have recently moved up the ranks from staff to partners/salon owners in the last few months and some that have been business owners for over 20 years. Many of them consult our support team on education/staff development / the partner leadership team and client initiatives. Their unwavering support and hard work.

OUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.

Mentorship and nurturing young talent are one of the main focuses for our brand moving forward. The hairdressing landscape is evolving and in turn, so are we.

We are nothing without our current and future team. We invest a lot of resources into mentoring and upskilling our teams. We do this across our Assistant Management Program, Personal development Program, our Breakthrough team, and a plethora of both individual and business opportunities that have our people’s best interest at heart. We are so lucky to have the history and legacy to build on.

The future of TONI&GUY looks like an empowering, positive, and fresh environment - Toni Mascolo (founder of TONI&GUY) and Dennis lived by the philosophy “To grow the best, most respected, creative hairdressing company on the planet, where people love to work, and clients love to be.”

We are furthering this vision by creating a supportive, innovative, and collaborative business that is constantly evolving to the needs of the individuals who are our company… With a lot of fun along the way.