18|8 Experts in Men's Haircare and Grooming

W. Scott Griffiths, Founder | CEO | CMO
Ron Love, Founder | President | Salon Operations

W. Scott Griffiths, Founder | CEO | CMO - Mr. Griffiths has been building companies and successful brands for more than twenty years. As CEO of Boombang Ventures ( www.Boombang.com ), and GO ( www.ThinkGO.com ), brand/product development and marketing firms based in Southern California, Mr. Griffiths has managed and directed marketing and branding assignments for many Fortune 500 companies, as well as entrepreneurial and investment-backed companies. Examples include: Nokia, House of Blues, Boeing, The Anderson School at UCLA, Semester at Sea, Avery Dennison, Bausch and Lomb, Crystal Cruises, and Opal Concepts (American Hair Force, José Eber Atelier, Carlton Hair International). At GO, Mr. Griffiths also created and developed the Rhino Chasers brand, a microbrewed "lifestyle" beer named after the "big wave riders." The brand continued to grow, resulting in the creation of a separate company and the raising of $6 million in outside capital. A Rhino Chasers Brewpub was opened in the busiest terminal of Los Angeles Airport in 1995. Gallo purchased the brand in 1998.

After attending Chapman University, Mr. Griffiths graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design, where he later served as President of the Alumni Board and on the Board of Trustees. He received his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School. Mr. Griffiths was chosen as an Entrepreneur of the Year in 1993 and is a member of the Harvard Business School Association of Orange County, where he helps direct the marketing segment of their annual Entrepreneurs Conference. He serves as marketing advisor to the UCLA Anderson Economic Forecast and has taught business and design courses to senior students at Art Center. Scott has published three books with major publishers, one a best seller (Random House). He has been a member of Tech Coast Angels, an organization that invests in and coaches early stage companies. He is currently a member of The Luxury Council and sits on the Boards of Surfing Heritage Foundation, and Outside Labs (a leader in skin care/muscle/wound care products for athletes under the brands K2 and Scape).

Ron Love, Founder | President | Salon Operations - British-born Ron Love has close to forty years of experience in the salon industry. His hairstyling career began as an apprentice in London's Mayfair district at age 15. A stylist for many years, Mr. Love refined his creative talent and acquired the interpersonal skills that are a vital part of his business philosophy today. Mr. Love is a business builder known for his ability to develop positive corporate cultures and create profitable businesses.

For ten years he owned and managed two highly successful salons in South Africa that became the trendsetters for the region. He moved to the U.S. in 1981 and soon joined Carlton Hair International as a managing partner. Mr. Love's responsibilities grew with the company; he was promoted to Chief Operations Officer for the entire organization in 1993. During his tenure with the company, Mr. Love facilitated the growth of twenty-eight Carlton and Linear salons throughout Southern California and developed the Hair Health and Beauty salon concept. Opal Concepts acquired Carlton Hair International in 1999 and appointed Mr. Love as President of the José Eber Atelier salon chain where he worked until recently, in order to focus his talents and energies on building the chain of 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons.