New chairperson appointed for UK beauty association

A new chair, Michael Thornhill, has been appointed to the board of the Hairdressing and Beauty Industry Association (Habia), the UK government-approved standards body for hair, beauty, nails and spa.

Thornhill’s appointment was made by the Habia Board in December 2008 and was effective from 1 January 2009. He takes over from the outgoing chair Penny Turvey.

Thornhill has been a director of Habia for more than four years and is currently the chair of the Diploma Development Partnership (DDP) that is developing the new Diploma in Hair and Beauty Studies. He has also previously been a member of Habia’s Hairdressing Forum.

He has more than 20 years of experience in further education, which has allowed him to head up a number of initiatives aimed at raising professionalism and standards. Details: habia.org