Hello, I’m Rob. My background could not be further removed from hairdressing. For the past 30 years I worked in Engineering where we designed and manufactured high integrity valves for warships, principally submarines. I became Managing Director in 1994 and grew the business to become a leading supplier of Hull Penetration Valves for submarine shipbuilders around the world. Through the last decade I also ran similar businesses here in the UK, Canada, France and Germany. I decided to take early retirement in July 2009 but deep down probably knew putting my feet up every day would not last for long.

I met Fran about 3 years ago when she became my hairdresser, though these days there is not much left for her to cut. She has created a fantastic business at Benessere but is in so much demand on the shop floor, with many clients following her through her hairdressing career. I could see huge future potential for the business but it needed someone to take care of the backroom stuff.

So, in November last year I joined Benessere as Fran's business partner. Don't worry, Fran will not let me loose on your hair; my responsibility is strictly administration, finance and marketing.