Sola Salon Studios Announces New CEO

Sola Salon Studios, the world’s leading leaseholder of high-end, one- to-two chair private studios for beauty professionals, announced that R. Randall Clark is CEO effective July 2017. Company co-founders, Stratton Smith and Matt Briger, sought Randall’s expertise as a key strategic requirement for hastening the 13-year-old company’s 2018 global expansion plans, noting, “Randall’s vast expertise as a private equity investor affords a keen understanding of the investment side of business but he’s also acted as a CEO, leading and growing platforms around retail and commercial businesses. He did this via creative and proactive utilization of strategic partnerships and industry-wide collaboration. His skillset, paired with that mindset, are ideally suited for the exciting position Sola currently enjoys as the industry leader bridging the beauty and franchise industries.”

Randall is based in Denver, reporting to the company’s co-founders and Board of Directors. He is responsible for overseeing leadership, strategy and execution for all growth initiatives of the Sola Salon Studios franchise, both domestically and internationally, including operational management of all company-owned and operated Sola locations. Under his tenure thus far, Sola Salon Studios’ first international location recently opened in Toronto, Canada, in October 2017, overlapping another powerful upcoming milestone of 10,000 beauty professionals taking the brave entrepreneurial leap to independence and ownership across Sola Salon Studios’ rapidly expanding 400+ U.S. locations encompassing 138 franchisees operating in 41 states.

As lauded by Forbes, Sola Salon Studios ranked at the very top of its Best Franchises to Buy/$500,000+ list in 2015. “As we continue opening 55 to 60 locations a year, I envision greater opportunities for collaboration and partnerships, adding even more value to our most important stakeholders—our franchisees and the independent boutique salon owners inside each of our locations,” says Randall. His plans include expanding the company’s national and international platform footprint to 1,000 open units operating in 10 countries. A first quarter 2018 goal also includes “moving aggressively across Canada,” he said. “We’ve also entered into a strategic partnership in Brazil with leading beauty industry executives tasked with building a portfolio of franchisees.”

With 27 years as a seasoned senior corporate executive and equity investment principal, Randall has led a diverse set of companies, sponsoring strategic investment partnerships and alternative asset-operating platforms to sustainable growth and significant enterprise value creation. As a private equity investment sponsor, he has led and completed over $3.7 billion in investment transaction volume, comprising in excess of $850 million of equity capital commitments.

Randall’s most recent 14-year tenure as Circle Capital Partners’ Founder and CEO, a position he still holds, made him a judicious hire to guide Sola Salon Studios expansion: as a fire-tested executive with an astute business acumen and unshakeable belief in servant leadership, his expertise combines business and corporate development for driving and delivering measurable results to each company he leads. Prestigious past positions also include three years serving as President and CEO for Thomas Franchise Solutions. He previously served as a Managing Director for Cherokee Investment Partners and Cushman Realty/Bear Stearns Western Region. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Arizona, earning his J.D. degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. He has served as voluntary chairman for the Young Presidents Organization’s Rocky Mountain regional chapter.