Empower Aesthetics Announces Appointments to its Board of Directors

Medical Aesthetics Platform Welcomes Several Accomplished Industry Leaders as Directors

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Empower Aesthetics (“Empower”), an Austin-based national medical aesthetics platform, today announced the appointment of three directors and seven independent directors to its board, including David Barr as Lead Director. The appointed Board of Directors includes seasoned executives with experience in growing health care businesses, direct-to-consumer marketing, brand building and luxury guest experiences.

“Empower is entering a period of rapid expansion, and with the appointment of the directors to our Board, we are well positioned to provide our entrepreneur partners with significant resources as they seek remarkable growth,” said John Hennegan, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Founding Partner of Shore Capital.

Barr brings decades of experience successfully scaling multi-site consumer services businesses through periods of truly transformative growth. He is the former Chairman of the IFA and currently serves as Chairman of PMTD Restaurants and Managing Director of Franworth. He has significant experience in opening retail locations through his involvement with Lash Lounge, the Jewelry Group, and tens of other consumer-retail businesses. He is also on the Board of Directors of Brightview, Shore Capital's medication-assisted addiction treatment platform investment.

“I am thrilled to serve alongside this Board of highly experienced directors and partner with the Empower leadership team to provide tools and expertise to help medical aesthetics brands achieve scale,” said Barr.

Also joining the Board are the following distinguished independent directors:

• Chidinma Asonye: Ms. Asonye is the President of S by Serena, Serena Williams’ consumer brand portfolio which includes fashion, DTC, and consumer products branded lines. Asonye brings extensive experience in the areas of marketing, brand building, consumer products and growing private equity backed businesses. She previously served as Executive Director of La Mer Global eCommerce and Global Omnichannel at Estee Lauder Companies. Asonye also spent over six years in private equity and investment banking at Merrill Lynch, American Capital and Prospect Partners.

• Dr. Leslie Baumann: Dr. Baumann is a board-certified dermatologist, author, and clinical researcher. Throughout her career, Dr. Baumann founded multiple cosmetic centers including the University of Miami Cosmetic Center, the first university-operated center dedicated to cosmetic dermatology in the United States, and the Baumann Cosmetic & Research Institute. She has also led research studies for the US Food and Drug Administration to investigate pivotal cosmetic procedures and over 20 clinical trials for skin aging, body contouring, and facial rejuvenation products, including Botox, Dysport, Juvéderm, Sculptra, and others. Dr. Baumann wrote the leading textbook in the space, “Cosmetic Dermatology: Principles and Practice,” published by McGraw Hill. Finally, Dr. Baumann founded Skin Type Solutions, a leading software solution and group purchasing business assisting practitioners with developing customized, patient-focused skincare regimens.

• Caroline MacDonald: Ms. MacDonald is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Pebble Beach Resorts, the operators of world-renowned golf courses and resorts. Prior to Pebble Beach, MacDonald served as Senior Vice President of Operations, Americas at Rosewood Hotel Group, a leading collection of ultra-luxury resorts worldwide, responsible for directing operations for 15 hotels in the Americas region. She also serves on the Board of Advisors of Cal State Monterey Bay and is involved with the Milken Institute.

• John Nelson: Mr. Nelson is CEO of Southern Orthodontic Partners, a Shore Capital-backed network of over 45 integrated orthodontic practices in the Southern United States. Southern Orthodontic Partners has quickly become the second largest Orthodontic platform since its formation in July 2019. Nelson previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Results Physiotherapy, which grew to over 160 sites across the Southeast under his leadership. He also served as a board member at Results Physiotherapy and oversaw the successful acquisition of the company by Upstream Rehabilitation. He is also a Founding Partner of The Institute of Advanced Musculoskeletal Treatments, one of the nation’s leaders in physical therapy and education training programs.

• Alyssa Rapp: Ms. Rapp serves on the Board of Directors of Together Women’s Health, a Shore Capital-backed network of women's health practices. She is also CEO of Healthwell Acquisition Corp, a $250 million SPAC that recently announced a definitive business combination agreement with Starton Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on transforming standard-of-care therapies. Most recently, Rapp served as CEO of Surgical Solutions, a provider of non-clinical surgical services for minimally invasive procedures to hospitals. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and lecturer in management at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

• Kristy Rohwedder, BSN, RN: Ms. Rohwedder is President of Private Duty Nursing at Aveanna Healthcare Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded company offering home care services such as pediatric skilled nursing and therapy, adult skilled nursing, and medical solutions. Rohwedder previously served as CEO of Shore Capital’s Florida Autism Center business, empowering the business to rapidly grow from five to 47 locations. Florida Autism Center was acquired by KKR-backed BlueSprig, where she served as COO for two years. In addition, she has received numerous recognitions including CEO of the Year by the Orlando Business Journal.

“We are privileged to have assembled such a world-class Board of Directors,” said Jeff Helfgott, CEO at Empower Aesthetics. “Their collective wisdom and experience will be instrumental in propelling Empower's success and delivering high-quality care at scale across the medical aesthetics industry.”

To learn more about Empower Aesthetics, please visit www.empower.spa or email partners@empower.spa.

About Empower Aesthetics

Empower Aesthetics is a national aesthetics platform that provides the tools, support, and strategy to empower aesthetic owners and practices to reach new heights while maintaining the highest quality of care. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Empower is looking for providers with whom to partner and grow the right way. To learn more about Empower Aesthetics, please visit www.empower.spa or email info@empower.spa.

About Shore Capital Partners

Shore Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm with offices in Nashville, is an investor in microcap companies in the healthcare, food and beverage, business services, industrial, and real estate industries. Shore’s strategy is to support management partners to grow faster with less risk, through access to capital, world-class board and operational resources, and unmatched networking, development, and shared learnings across the portfolio. For the third consecutive year in 2022, Shore received recognition from Inc. Magazine as a top founder-friendly investor, and by Pitchbook research for leading all U.S. Private equity firms in total deal volume. Shore targets investments in established, successful private companies with premier management teams, stable cash flow, and significant potential to grow through industry consolidation and organic growth to generate value for shareholders. Shore has over $6 billion of assets under management and in additional investment platforms to which it provides business and operational services. For more information, including with respect to these awards and investment platforms, please visit: www.shorecp.com.

Shore Capital Partners
Allison Dorr, Edelman Smithfield
Allison.Dorr@edelmansmithfield.com