ABOUT RAY CIVELLO

Ray Civello is a philanthropist, leader, and visionary in the fashion, beauty, and wellness industry. Combining creative skills and keen business sensibilities, Ray is a successful entrepreneur, celebrity hairstylist, editorial stylist, photographer, inspired public speaker, and coveted international educator.

For more than twenty five years, Ray Civello has been a revolutionary figure in the beauty industry as a master hairstylist and business owner. After starting his career as a stylist at one of Canada’s hottest salons, The Rainbow Room, Ray’s visionary talent and engaging personality propelled him to become a sought-after editorial hairstylist in North America and Europe.

In 1985, he launched his own brand of salons, Civello, the first-ever salon-spa conglomerate of its kind in Toronto, Canada. He opened with the mission to inspire guests to look and feel their best; image crafters committed to being forerunners in beauty and wellness. After opening four successful Civello salons in Canada, he expanded nationally to open two salons in Vancouver, British Columbia. With over three decades of experience, Ray has worked with a variety of clients including celebrities, executives, and tastemakers.

In addition to Civello salons, Ray has pioneered the Aveda Global business. He has held titles as Aveda’s Global & Creative Director and V.P. of Education. In 1994, Ray Civello established Collega International, a conglomerate of sales, salons, and education. The business is the only national distributor for Aveda products in Canada and parent company to two Aveda Institutes and Academy Salons nationwide, sixteen Aveda retail stores, and six highly successful salons across the country. With his distinctive perspective and skill-set, Ray has crafted an approach to hair unlike any other by truly factoring in the personality and appearance of every individual through colouring, cutting, and styling.

ABOUT COLLEGA

In 1995, Raffaela, Margaret, George, and Ray Civello founded Collega. From their small office in Toronto, the family business has grown to span the country, and now includes over six hundred salons and spas, seventeen Aveda Experience Centers, three Aveda Institutes and Academies, Novvo Etopa, Partner Salon Group (PSG) and FixxRx. 

Collega’s foundation is rooted in strong core values and beliefs that are an extension of Aveda and Horst’s vision as a company, and community: Integrity, community, creativity, awareness, passion, perseverance. It is with these beliefs in mind, Collega is committed to building lasting relationships, creating magical experiences and giving back to each other and to the planet. Most important to the growth and success of Collega is credited to our growing family of salons, spas, schools, and stores. It is our highly valued clients and team, who have taken us to the next level by consistently representing us with innovation, creativity and the highest level of service excellence.

CIVELLO CELEBRATES THIRTY YEARS

As a prominent Toronto editorial hairstylist in the late eighties (with clients that included artists, musicians and models), Ray Civello saw the opportunity to give back to communities with high-level service and great hair. Through Civello’s international travels to five-star resorts experiencing their unparalleled service, this inspired him to reinvent the traditional beauty salon and do something different.  He opened the first-ever salon/spa conglomerate in Toronto with the help of his older sister, Raffaela. 

Obsessed with getting it right, in 1989, Civello Rosedale was born. Civello launched a new salon concept, and with it, he introduced a guest-centric experience devoted to high-touch customer service. To ensure this vision, Civello invested extensively in-salon education, focused on team building and soft-skill training, which was revolutionary within the industry. Civello’s devotion to the craft encouraged both staff and guests to become the best version of themselves and ultimately fulfill their maximum potential.

With six successful salons across Canada, located in the Toronto and Vancouver markets, each Civello salon is unique and a reflection of the local community it resides in.  “We encourage our Civello salons to be extensions of their community while sharing our common values on fostering deep connections with guests and delivering service consistencies.” 

October 2019, the beauty and wellness monarch celebrates thirty years of care, creativity, and community. Throughout the year, Civello will celebrate this milestone anniversary with staff, guests and their communities with a campaign series of seventeen untold real guest stories shot by Ray Civello himself.  “Behind every photo is a deeply rooted story that connects them to Civello in some way. The objective of these portraits was to capture the essence of the individual, and it’s the same with a haircut.” The campaign will be featured in salon windows, online and across social media. “My connection with Civello is spiritual. I believe that hair holds energy as well as being important to our overall appearance. For me, Civello represents growth and self-love. Every time I do my hair or get services done, I feel more empowered and more confident in myself. I feel like I can accomplish more things than I tell myself I can.” – (Naima Nur, Featured Civello Portrait)

As Civello reflects on the past 30 years, he can’t help but look ahead and be excited about the next thirty years.  “Our continued growth is a true testament to our relevancy and ability to reinvent our offering without ever sacrificing the integrity of who we are.  We will continue to push ourselves, be better and continue to give back”. Civello’s longevity is a result of constantly challenging the status quo, and they will continue to do so over the next thirty years.  The Civello community can expect to see expansion on the horizon in the form of more locations, offshoots from the brand and reinvigorated spa business.

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