Sydney, Australia
.png)
rewrite the rules
NEW THINKING. NEW VOICES. NEW RULES.
Two Nights. One Hotel. Not Business As Usual.
14–15 February 2027 | The EVE Hotel, Sydney
Some rules were made to be broken. Others were never worth following. The industry is moving. So are we.
In 2027, The Salon (prevously called The Salon Forum) takes over The EVE Hotel Sydney for two days and two nights, bringing together some of the most influential, progressive and compelling voices shaping hair, business and culture right now.
This is your opportunity to gain breakthrough thinking and new ideas from those who have already achieved extraordinary levels of success — so you can elevate your performance to a whole new level, change how you see the future, and rewrite the rules for yourself.
Check in. Switch off autopilot. Be in the room where the conversation changes.
Tickets from $599 (incl. GST). Limited places. Tickets selling fast.
Who this is for:
Ambitious salon owners, teams and industry professionals ready to question the status quo, elevate their performance, and lead the next era of hairdressing.
What you’ll walk away with:
- A refreshed sense of purpose and love for our incredible industry
- An inspiring vision for yourself, your team and our industry in 2027
- A 12-month salon coaching / support plan to help you achieve this vision
- Breakthrough thinking from proven industry leaders
- Powerful connections in an intimate hotel-takeover setting
- The confidence and tools to rewrite the rules for yourself
SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY | FROM 2PM
Before we rewrite the rules around us, we start with the ones within us.
Sunday opens THE SALON ’27 with an immersive afternoon of conscious leadership and inner transformation - challenging the beliefs, behaviours and patterns that shape how we work, play, lead and live.
Part reset. Part wake-up call. A chance to step outside the everyday, shift perspective and reconnect with what drives you - personally and professionally.
THINK DEEPER. LEAD DIFFERENTLY. REIMAGINE. REWRITE.
MONDAY 15 FEBRUARY | FROM 8:15AM
Then, we hand the mic to the rule breakers.
The icons. The innovators. The entrepreneurs, creatives, risk takers and industry disruptors shaping where our industry goes next.
Monday turns up the volume with a full day of creativity, business, culture, career and conversations worth having. Expect bold ideas, big personalities, unexpected perspectives, practical takeaways and brutally honest insights from people who have succeeded, failed and succeeded again - building careers by doing things differently.
NO FORMULAS. NO PLAYBOOK. JUST IDEAS WORTH STEALING AND RULES WORTH BREAKING.
THE VOICES REWRITING THE RULES
These leaders refused to accept “business as usual.” Their personal journeys of breakthrough, resilience, innovation and extraordinary success will invigorate new thinking, challenge you to grow and think differently, push you out of your comfort zone, and equip you to create a new level of personal and professional success — for yourself, your salon and our industry.
Natalie Anne — Global Styling Icon & Founder
Third-generation hairdresser. Multi-award-winning stylist. Educator. Entrepreneur. Digital powerhouse. Ultimate boss babe. And part-time warehouse manager.
For more than two decades, Natalie Anne has built a career that reaches far beyond the salon chair — from fashion weeks and global campaigns to becoming one of Australian hairdressing’s most recognisable voices.
Long before social media became part of the industry playbook, Natalie was already rewriting it — building a community, a business and a career on her own terms.
At THE SALON ’27, Natalie gets real about evolution, ambition and backing yourself — sharing the lessons, risks and decisions behind a career built on doing things differently.
Renya Xydis — Founder, Valonz
For four decades, Renya Xydis has built a career by refusing to stand still. An Australian hairdressing icon, award-winning creative, co-founder of VALONZ and a force across the international fashion circuit, Renya has taken her craft from the salon floor to global runways, major campaigns and the pages of Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper’s BAZAAR.
At THE SALON ’27, Renya brings a lifetime of creativity, instinct and reinvention to the stage, exploring what it takes to stay relevant, build a career with true longevity and, most importantly, keep evolving.
Four decades in, Renya remains the ultimate rule breaker — never following the industry, always moving it forward.
Lauren McCowan — Creative Director & Educator
Creative Director. Hair consultant. Stylist. Brand builder. Lauren McCowan has spent more than 17 years turning ideas into impact across hair, fashion, beauty and culture.
Moving seamlessly between global fashion weeks, editorial, education, forecasting, product development and creative direction, Lauren’s work has featured in Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, Interview and Rolling Stone. Never confined to one creative lane, Lauren has built a career around curiosity, collaboration and seeing possibility where others see boundaries.
At THE SALON ’27, Lauren explores creativity as more than talent — how to find it, feed it and turn an idea into something that matters.
Because creativity doesn’t need more rules. It needs room to break them
Joh Bailey — Iconic Stylist & Brand Founder
Hairdresser. Entrepreneur. Icon. For four decades, Joh Bailey has been one of Australian hairdressing’s most enduring — and at times polarising — figures, transforming a Double Bay salon into an institution and creating an unmistakable standard of glamour, service and style.
His chair has welcomed royalty, supermodels, Hollywood and some of Australia’s most recognisable faces. But behind the Bailey blowout is something even more powerful: belief. Belief in your craft, in your people, in your vision and in having the conviction to stay the course.
At THE SALON ’27, Joh gets real about business, belief and the lessons learned across 40 years at the top — the risks, resilience and unwavering standards behind building a brand that lasts.
Rules change. Belief is what gets you through them.
Oscar Cullinan — Founder, Oscar Oscar Salons
Hairdresser. Entrepreneur. Brand architect. Twice crowned Australian Hairdresser of the Year, Oscar Cullinan has spent more than three decades building far more than beautiful hair.
Since opening the first Oscar Oscar Salon in 1989, he has grown a single salon into one of Australia’s most recognised salon groups - building teams, developing talent and creating a brand with longevity at its core.
But Oscar has never been interested in standing still. From salons and product innovation to his newest move into luxury wellness, his career has been defined by an instinct to evolve, experiment and keep looking beyond what already exists.
At THE SALON ’27, Oscar explores vision, evolution and what it really takes to build something that lasts - while knowing when it’s time to rewrite your own rules.
Build it. Evolve it. Then dare to reinvent it.
CJ Morello — Multi-Salon Owner (A.H. Salon)
Salon owner. Entrepreneur. Leader. And our vote for Father of the Year!
For CJ Morello, business has never been the end goal. It’s the vehicle for something much bigger.
As the owner of AH Salon and Emma Dean Salon, with around 30 staff across two Sydney locations, CJ has built thriving businesses around people, culture, community and a fiercely clear sense of purpose. At the heart of it all is his family — and an extraordinary vision he calls The 100-Year Plan.
At THE SALON ’27, CJ shares how finding his ‘why’ completely rewrote the rules of what success meant to him — changing the way he approaches business, leadership, resilience and the future.
Because sometimes rewriting the rules starts with knowing exactly what you’re building for.
Shakira Jade — Founder, Hair Candy & Business Coach
Entrepreneur. Business coach. Empire builder. Shakira Jade started Hair Candy from a spare bedroom at just 20 years old. Today, it’s a multi-million-dollar business spanning three salon locations, wholesale, e-commerce and a team of more than 25.
Shakira knows first-hand what it takes to turn hustle into structure, passion into profit, and a great idea into a business that can actually scale.
At THE SALON ’27, Shakira gets real about growth, money, mindset and the systems behind success - sharing the lessons, mistakes and moves that helped her build bigger, work smarter and play by her own rules.
From spare bedroom to multi-million-dollar business. No rulebook required.
Sarah Emilia — Multi-Awarded Stylist & Social Media Powerhouse
Hairdresser. Entrepreneur. Content creator. Digital disruptor. Sarah Emilia turned a passion for hair into a social media phenomenon - growing from virtually zero to one million TikTok followers in just six months and taking home TikTok Australia’s Business of the Year along the way.
But Sarah’s success isn’t just about going viral. It’s about showing up, understanding your audience and having the confidence to be seen — turning content into community, community into clients and visibility into real business opportunity.
At THE SALON ’27, Sarah gets real about TikTok — decoding what cuts through, what converts and why the old rules of getting your business noticed no longer apply.
Forget the algorithm. Rewrite the rules. Be seen.
Mia Langley — Educator & Personal Brand Builder
Hairdresser. Educator. Entrepreneur. Content creator. And unmistakably Gen Z. Mia Langley started hairdressing at 15, launched her own business at 18 and opened her first salon at just 19, building a career, community and personal brand without waiting for permission.
Young, ambitious and refreshingly unfiltered, Mia represents a generation entering the industry with a very different idea of what a career in hair can look like.
At THE SALON ’27, Mia takes over a specialty session created for the next generation - getting real about career, confidence, opportunity and creating your own path in an industry full of possibility.
Your career. Your way. Your rules.
Kym Krey— Salon Mentor, Business & Leadership Coach
Leadership specialist. Business mentor. Culture builder. And the person you want in your corner when managing people gets messy.
Named AHIA AU/NZ Best Industry Business Coach 2025, Kym Krey has spent decades building teams, developing leaders and helping business owners turn people problems into better performance. Her sweet spot? The real-world stuff - communication, accountability, culture, retention and getting the best from the people around you.
At THE SALON ’27, Kym skips the leadership fluff and gets practical - unpacking the tools, conversations and strategies that can make an immediate difference to the way you lead your team.
Forget the old management rulebook. Lead better. Build stronger. Take it back to the salon.
Rita Marcon — Conscious Living Pioneer, Hairdresser and Corporate Leader
After almost three decades climbing the corporate ladder, Rita Marcon reached the pinnacle as General Manager ANZ of one of the world’s largest professional hair companies. Then she did something few at the top are brave enough to do - she stepped away and rewrote the rules of what success looked like for her.
Today, as founder of I Am Conscious Living, Rita brings decades of leadership, culture and industry experience to a very different conversation - one centred on purpose, connection and a more conscious way to work, lead and live.
At THE SALON ’27, Rita takes us inward with purpose - challenging the beliefs, behaviours and patterns that shape us, and exploring what becomes possible when we lead ourselves as consciously as we lead others.
Sometimes the biggest rule you’ll ever rewrite is your own definition of success.
Cass Donnelly — CEO, CPR Hair
Took a 60-year haircare and colour family legacy business and completely rewrote what an Australian company could be — turning education into a movement. His story of evolving tradition into bold innovation will challenge you to question every “that’s how we’ve always done it” and step into a higher level of leadership and industry impact.
Kate Rawnsley — National Education Manager, CPR Hair
With global experience shaping education and craft, Kate is rewriting the rules of salon learning for 2027. Her vision centres on developing true creative mastery that elevates artistry, results and the entire industry. She will challenge you to step out of routine education into a deeper level of professional success for yourself and your salon.
AND THAT’S NOT ALL.
Beyond the main stage, THE SALON ’27 breaks out.
Expect intimate specialty sessions, practical deep dives and up-close access to CPR’s Ambassador collective - sharing the skills, ideas, techniques and real-world knowledge they know best.
More voices. More perspectives. More ideas to take back to the salon.
MAIN STAGE. BREAKOUTS. SURPRISES. AND MORE STILL TO BE REVEALED.
TICKETS SELLING FAST
The rules have changed. Come help write what’s next.
Limited places at this exclusive two-night takeover of The EVE Hotel.
relive the moments of the salon forum 2026
You stepped into courage. You built new connections.
You were moved by the voices shaping our industry.
You stood beside the creative talent that defines who we are.
This is The Salon Forum 2026.
See you at The Salon 2027.
Redesigned - don't watch it happen. Be in the room.
.png)
