Vanessa Yakobson

CEO

Vanessa, along with Paul Spindler and Ari Yakobson, Blo’s Chairman and Vanessa’s husband, acquired Blo in 2009. Vanessa has always been a passionate supporter of the business – as a shareholder and as a customer – and was thrilled to join the corporate team at the end of 2014, taking on the role of CEO in early 2016. Vanessa is your go-to for idea sharing and franchise feedback, strategic initiatives, franchise sales and anything else partners may need from corporate. Vanessa has an undergraduate degree in Drama from the University of Toronto. She started her career in Marketing and then went back to school to acquire an MBA from the J.L.Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, Chicago. She returned to Toronto to work at Procter & Gamble and eventually moved into the non-profit sector as Director of Development for the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario. As a survivor of childhood cancer, Vanessa is passionate about the cause. Vanessa and Ari have 3 children.

Paul Spindler

COO

Paul is the Chief Operating Officer at Blo. He is responsible for negotiating agreements for our Franchise Partners, overseeing the build and design of Blo units and he provides coaching and operational support across all aspects of the business. He is you go-to for franchise agreements, site selling, lease agreements, build management and maintenance and staffing/ scheduling guidance. Paul, along with Vanessa and Ari acquired Blo in 2009. Prior to Blo, Paul was an investor and COO of Melonhead, a hair salon for kids. Paul is a graduate of McGill University, where he earned a BA, and he also earned a LL.B designation from Osgood Hall Law School. In his free time, Paul likes to spend time with his wife, two kids and his dogs. He enjoys cooking, but only on Sundays, and he works out by wearing slim-fit shirts! Paul is you go to for Franchise agreements, site selling, lease agreements, management and maintenance, staffing/scheduling guidance, operational guidance.

Dana Peyton

Franchise Development Manager

Dana has been with Blo Blow Dry Bar for over 10 years! Her previous work experience includes working in logistics and office management. At Blo, she’s the go-to for almost everything! She is responsible for accounts receivable/payable, interviewing potential franchise partner as well as the office manager. In her spare time, she a proud mama of three!

Kim Wolfe

Director of Franchise Operations

Kim heads the operations department. She oversees all aspects of franchise operations inclusive of providing direction, coaching and support on all blo accounts, systems and vendor partnerships. Kim and the operations team also work closely with the Corporate Educators on all blo openings, seasonal styles, and education projects. After joining the Blo family 4 years ago, Kim still considers Blo her dream job and is grateful to the Head Office team, Franchise Partners, Educators and blo staff that keep her inspired, motivated and laughing day-in and day-out.

When not at work, Kim enjoys live music, comedy, travel and enjoying a great meal with family and friends.

Shauna Stalker

Marketing Director

Shauna holds a Bachelors Degree in Communications from York University and a Certificate in Marketing from Humber College. She is also an accomplished sommelier who is in the process of completing a Diploma in Wine through the Wine & Spirit Eduction Trust in London….just for fun. Shauna started her career working in buying for the clothing retailer Tall Girl and went on to become the Marketing Manager for that company and its European counterpart, Long Tall Sally. Shauna most recently managed the service and operations for a private country club west of Toronto.

Shauna loves to spend time with her husband, her friends and her dog who was rescued from Taiwan. She also loves to travel, shop, cook and drink wine (for research purposes of course).

Dayna Barron

Creative Director

Dayna, affectionately known as Dee, is Blo’s Creative Director. A fierce guardian of the Blo brand, Dayna oversees all creative. She has been with Blo for over 8 years. Dayna holds a Bachelor of Design from OCAD University, and an Honours Diploma in Advertising from Georgian College. She is tickled pink to be holding a Sessional Instructor position with the Faculty of Design for OCADU.

In her spare time she can be found freelancing as a designer and brand consultant for startups and SMBs, volunteering on the board for Young Professionals in support of Jays Care, or spending time with her siblings who mean the world to her. Dayna has a penchant for dad jokes, and a soft spot for furry creatures, glitter and city lights.

Kasia Chalas-Hollick

Franchise Operations Manager

Kasia works to train and support Franchise Partners and leads implementation of the makeup system. She is also responsible for leading the system-wide Blo for a Cause campaign. A graduate of Ryerson University’s Graphic Communication Management & Design program, Kasia holds a Bachelor of Technology with a minor in marketing. Prior to Blo, Kasia led the marketing department for an award-winning luxury interior design firm that specialized in the hospitality sector. Experienced in supporting clients on an international scale, Kasia enjoys finding workflow efficiencies and the development of new resources and systems to optimize operations and scalability.

Jessica Sirois

Franchise Operations Manager

Jessica joined the Blo Blow Dry Bar team in late 2017 as our Associate Franchise Operations Manager. Jessica has always had an interest in helping others, which led her to an Honours Degree in Child and Youth Care from Humber College and furthering her education in Psychology at York University in Toronto. Jessica has a strong retail background with over 9 years of experience. Before Blo she worked as the Operations Manager for Brandy Melville Canada where she was responsible for training and development, financial planning,and opening new locations.

In her downtime you can find her either at the movies, eating brunch or admiring her two cats. She loves travelling to new destinations, bike rides in the summer and attending music festivals.

Natalie Pazienza

Franchise Operations Manager

Natalie joined the Blow Blo Dry team in late 2018 as our newest “Franchise Operations Manager”. She had previously held a management role with Nordstrom where she helped with the opening of several full-line and off-price rack stores across Canada. She brings with her a wealth of sales, management and customer service experience that she is excited to incorporate into her new role at Blo! She looks forward to providing lots of support and on-going coaching for franchise partners in the New Year!

For fun, Natalie loves to go out for dinner and drinks in the city, attend a concert or movie and shop the latest trends.

Megan O’Brien

Digital Marketing Manager

Megan is the Digital Marketing Manager for Blo. She is you go-to for Momentfeed, social media, digital reviews and everything else in the digital space.

Megan joined Blo in 2016. She previously worked in publishing, where she managed the digital assets and marketing material for two Canadian publications. Prior to that, she worked for a marketing agency, where she managed the global presence for various top-tier brands. Megan is a graduate of McMaster University, where she studied Web Development, and she holds a Diploma in Journalism and Broadcasting.

In her spare time you can find Megan making jam, talking about the importance of Google reviews, rock-climbing, or hanging with her puppy Luna.

Jillian De Las Alas

Graphic Designer

Jillian is a Graphic Designer at Blo. She attended George Brown College, majoring in Communication Design, Seneca College for the Webmaster Content Site Design Program, and OCAD for Adobe After Effects.

With an addiction to Photoshop and Illustrator, her role at Blo is to create designs for promotional material online as well as in-bar. In other words, her daily mission is to take ideas and make them pink and pretty! She’s worked on layouts for grand openings, swag items, posters, signage, social media posts, email – the list of fun goes on!

Jillian has a passion for poutine, dance, and snuggling up next to her English Bulldog while watching cheesy horror films. Zombie ones are her favorite!

Brian Jensen

Graphic Designer

Brian was tickled pink to join the Blo team in early 2018 as a Graphic Designer. He is responsible for creating fun, eye-catching layouts and videos for our fantastic franchisees and corporate social media accounts.

Before working with Blo, Brian worked primarily in network television and film doing various tasks from graphic design, visual effects and costume design to on-screen appearances. His freelance graphic design and video work has won several awards including Graphis (gold award) and CASA Award for best Electronic Video and he has had the pleasure of working with internationally acclaimed talents such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Dita Von Teese.

When he needs a break from his computer, Brian can be found hiking, traveling and performing burlesque.