Chief Operating Officer Arielle Mortimer, Chief Technology Officer John McKinney, and Head of Product and UX Nandhita Kumar have officially joined the emerging facial franchise.
A new team of executives have officially joined Heyday, the New York-based franchise focusing on personalized facial services, as the brand continues to chart a course for large-scale expansion. In recent months, Arielle Mortimer, John McKinney, and Nandhita Kumar have all come on board, each bringing an array of unique insights to keep scaling the brand at a rapid pace and equipped with a wealth of experience to create a well-rounded executive team.
Mortimer comes to Heyday from a previous role in the e-commerce industry. Most recently, she served as the senior vice president for Kindbody, a women’s health care brand, holding the position for over two years before transitioning to the Heyday executive board in November.
“I have been an avid fan of the brand since it launched,” Mortimer said. “I first experienced Heyday’s personalized facial services as a client and I felt like Heyday was really reinventing the industry. I was further driven to the brand because proper skin care is such a vital aspect of everyday life, and yet there hasn’t been a credible brand in this space to help lead the charge.”
Adam Ross, the co-founder of Heyday, said the growth of the brand over the past year has only continued to shine a light on the brand as one of the fastest-growing and strongest companies in the space. “It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees — both new and existing,” he said. “We’ve made it a mission to bring in the best minds to our business, and our growth as a brand over the past year in particular has shown how strong our operation has become.”
Mortimer’s guidance as the new COO will help the brand further its unparalleled client experience with a convenient and approachable model. “I had received facials in the past, but they were always inconvenient, expensive and time consuming. It was usually a two-to-three-hour activity,” she said.
Her insights, as both an avid client and business professional, are helping to develop the brand in new ways. “When you boil it down, this business model is really straightforward,” Mortimer said. “You allow people - our franchise partners - to create an amazing business for themselves with very little overhead, and that has driven system-wide growth for the company.”
“I love to help establish operational processes that can help us go from one, to 10, to hundreds of stores,” she added. “That's what is most exciting for me to bring from a day-to-day perspective — the ability to put together a playbook that makes us super efficient as a brand. I feel it’s important to grow our top-line revenue but also really focus on that bottom line.”
In addition to Mortimer, Heyday recently welcomed two additional leadership team members: Chief Technology Officer John McKinney, and Head of Product and UX Nandhita Kumar.
“It’s important for us to develop a multifaceted approach to our business,” Ross said. “That being said, these two positions have been specially geared toward the unique strengths of John and Nandhita.”
McKinney previously served as a CTO advisor for Netcapital, a tech-friendly brand that has enabled entrepreneurs to raise capital more efficiently. Prior to that, he served as the co-founder and CEO of Ashe Avenue Development, a technology shop that was acquired by AOL in 2015. At Heyday, McKinney oversees the brand’s digital platforms, including its robust online store and data warehouse.
Kumar joined the brand in February after working as the director of design for Chainanalysis, a blockchain data platform specializing in cryptocurrency investigation and compliance. Her professional experience as a design and product leader has grown immensely since receiving her master’s degree in human-computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon University, and her previous duties with Bank of America, BitTorrent, WeWork, Prolific Interactive, and Chainanalysis arm her with an array of industry experience outside of the health and wellness space. At Heyday, Kumar spearheads the user experience and software designed for Heyday’s clients, as well as their Skin Therapists.
“It’s a mission of ours to develop great ideas and share them with everybody that plays a part in our company,” Ross said. “We are thrilled to welcome such an experienced team of professionals to Heyday and we’re excited to have their support as we further propel the brand forward.”
Heyday’s startup costs range between $574,000 to $755,500, depending on which market the store is located. Other factors like design, configuration and labor costs will also impact the total investment. Click here to see the full cost breakdown.
