Entrepreneur and celebrity manicurist Leighton Denny is returning to his namesake brand after a three year hiatus.
Founded in 2005, Denny officially left Leighton Denny Expert Nails (LDEN) in 2017 after taking a step back from his role as Chairman and Creative Director two years prior.
The decision to return as CEO, the brand said, is to help "re-inject the core DNA" into the company and to "concentrate again on the customer, on education, on innovation, on spear-heading NPD and shaking up the nail market".
Denny, who was awarded an MBE for his services to the beauty industry in 2015, described the process of finalising the terms of his return as an "exciting roller coaster journey".
"We all learned a lot from each other, but now it’s time to take the brand to the next level."
He added that LDEN was one of the first social media-savvy D2C brands, but his appointment will help the company to re-establish engagement with consumers.
"Technology means I can have the same ‘sit down, hands-on’ experience I had with my original salon customers and it allows me to understand my customers and their needs which in turn helps me to educate them on my brands," Denny continued.
Leighton Denny
"I will have an open dialogue with customers and will bring that knowledge and experience back to Leighton Denny Expert Nails – to be educational, open, honest, creative, ground breaking and full of my heart and soul with which it was originally created."
A former forklift driver, Denny quit his job and opened his first salon in Bradford, England, in 1991.
His A-list clients have included actresses Joan Collins and Penelope Cruz, model Kate Moss and singer Adele.
