AHP Indie Stylist

Volume 1, Issue 1

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26 indie stylist Volume 1 Issue 1 way," he says. "No one gets to a high level of success on their own. I am extremely grateful for all those around me that I continually learn from, and I say it every day: I get to work with the best team in beauty. I am the luckiest guy!" ULTA BEAUTY PRO TEAM Stenson is the mastermind behind the creation of the Ulta Beauty Pro Team. "It was an idea I had," he says, "to create my dream team of industry professionals. Not only a team of talented people, but people who lead with their heart, inspire others, and people that I knew would have each other's back. "I also wanted to create the industry's first creative team where each person represented a different brand. Think about it this way . . . Ulta Beauty is a brand of brands. We celebrate all things beauty, all in one place. Our newest tagline is 'The Possibilities are Beautiful.'" The diverse makeup of the Ulta Beauty Pro Team is extremely important to Stenson, which provides their team of 10,000 beauty professionals a vast array of skill-set offerings. "The team has been wildly successful and inspirational inside and outside of Ulta Beauty," he says, "and let's just say . . . there may be a future Pro Makeup Team in the works." LEADERSHIP Being a leader is something Stenson never considered for himself—or that others would think of him as a leader. "It has been super humbling to watch how my career has grown and provided the leadership opportunities I have had," he says. "I personally believe being a leader bears a tremendous amount of responsibility, and to be honest, it weighs heavily on me daily to never let my team down. "I have also realized that being a leader means your job is to create leaders, which is one of the most rewarding parts of my job—to watch people grow and develop into leaders right in front of my eyes. It's incredibly humbling and rewarding. It's hard to put into words how proud it makes me feel." Stenson is a "glass half full" person with a passion for life and success. "I love being a strategic thinker and bringing big ideas to life," he says. "I am working on a ton of projects at the moment that I am most proud of, but it's still a little too soon to share them. However, I do believe that—once again—this will be a moment in my life that I look back on and say how grateful I am for all these opportunities." MANEUVERING COVID-19 As the COVID-19 pandemic started to unfold, Stenson's first mission was to gather the Pro Team and stress the importance of staying visible to their 10,000 stylists in more than 1,200 locations. He wanted the in- store beauty associates to feel "connected." He wanted to tell them, "We will all be OK." Working with Celebrities "Working with celebrities is very different than any other part of my job. It has been a fun part of my career. Of course it's nerve-wracking at times, but what I have learned to be true is that they are people just like you and me, and the less I actually treat them like a celebrity—and more like a person—the better the relationship is. I have made some great friendships along the way."—Nick Stenson

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