Monthly Luncheon: Can Innovation Overcome Overregulation? A Cautionary Tale

Can Innovation Overcome Overregulation? A Cautionary Tale

Our featured speaker for this event is Joe Gaylord, former CEO of Regency Beauty Institute.

Regency Beauty Institute was a stunning private equity success from 2005 to 2011 when it grew profitably from four to 89 locations. Instead of selling at its peak, the company chose to forge ahead despite significant regulatory headwinds. From 2012 to 2016, Regency made substantial changes, systematically reducing costs while making major strategic investments in innovative technology designed to redefine how education was delivered. Despite measurable strides forward, the company permanently closed in September 2016, due to declining industry-wide enrollment and progressive layers of regulatory changes designed to bring down for-profit education companies, even those with pristine regulatory records. Joe Gaylord will share lessons learned on the way up and the way down.

Joe Gaylord is a Twin Cities-based executive who has partnered with entrepreneurs and private equity firms to create and execute on disruptive strategies that have generated dramatic, profitable growth and value creation. He is regarded as a motivational and fearless servant-leader, during good times and bad. Joe’s experience includes executive positions at Regency Beauty Institute, Capella Education Company and Deluxe. He started his career at PwC. In his spare time, he is coach, president and board member for the St. Paul Basketball Association; an advisor to Tinket, an early-stage startup; and an avid Chicago Cubs fan. Joe and his wife live in St. Paul and are the proud parents of four children.