john paul dejoria
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JOHN PAUL DEJORIA
John Paul DeJoria’s rags-to-riches biography exemplifies the American dream – he is a first-generation American turned entrepreneur, philanthropist, government servant, and pillar of the business community. John Paul DeJoria has struggled against the odds not only to achieve success, but to share this success with others. He knows firsthand what it’s like to be the ‘underdog,’ and strives to help as many as possible overcome their challenges and achieve their full potential.
The prestigious Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans – an organization that honors selected individuals who have overcome humble beginnings and adversity to achieve success - recently recognized John Paul for his exemplary journey. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas inducted John Paul as a lifetime member in a ceremony that took place in the Supreme Court of the United States. Members of the Association – including such notables as Secretary of State Colin Powell, Former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, Oprah Winfrey, Norman Vincent Peale, and J.C. Penney – mentor young people and sponsor over $5 million in Horatio Alger need-based scholarships awarded annually to high school seniors who have proven their ability to overcome adversity and humble beginnings.
John Paul DeJoria has a special devotion to creating a healthy and safe future for all children around the world. He is a patron-level sponsor of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, a premiere research and teaching institution treating seriously ill and injured children regardless of ability to pay; Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is renowned internationally for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent medicine. Together with his friends Nelson Mandela, Brad Pitt, and Richard Branson, John Paul also serves as a Patron of MINESEEKER, a UK-based non-profit devoted to batting the global problem of landmines—a worldwide horror so often victimizing children—through technological advances. Recently, he also traveled to sub-Saharan Africa to join Nelson Mandela in helping to feed over 17,000 orphaned children daily through Food for Africa. Together with Nelson Mandela’s Aids Awareness Project ‘46664’ and Children’s Hospital, John Paul has additionally implemented a program that helps contain the spread of pediatric aids in this region. The alliance provides a vaccine to infected mothers in the third trimester of pregnancy that prevents them from passing the disease to their unborn children.
John Paul DeJoria was born in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California – one of two children of immigrant parents (his father came from Italy and his mother’s family came from Greece). His mother raised him as a single parent before John Paul reached the age of two. A high school teacher told young John Paul early on he would“...never, ever succeed at anything in life.” John Paul proved him wrong.
John Paul started out selling greeting cards at age 9 and delivering newspapers door-to-door in order to help support his family. After high school and service with honors in the U.S. Navy, John Paul did whatever it took to make ends meet – he sold encyclopedias, photocopying machines, dictating equipment, and insurance; he also worked as a janitor, pumped gasoline, drove a tow truck, and repaired bicycles. John Paul was even homeless at one time. Even then, he didn’t give up and collected bottles to stay afloat.
Eventually, John Paul got his break – an entry-level marketing position with Time magazine. Within a short period of time, he was promoted to Los Angeles Circulation Manager. He then moved to his first position in the hair care industry. Within eighteen months, he received a promotion to National Manager of Schools and Chain Salons. John Paul left this position and served at the National Manager and Vice President level for several hair care and cosmetic companies before becoming an independent consultant. He joined his marketing expertise with the hairdressing talents of his friend Paul Mitchell to launch their now-famous professional hair care system. John Paul DeJoria and Paul Mitchell had a vision - to found a company by hairdressers for hairdressers - one that would provide tools of success for hair care professionals, their salons, and the entire beauty industry. In 1980, the two partners began marketing their products under the brand name Paul Mitchell®, as Mr. Mitchell was the hairdresser of the two, and other hairdressers would respect the fact that they chose a hairdresser’s name.
Initially, John Paul Mitchell Systems® faced many financial challenges. According to John Paul, “…the company should have gone bankrupt perhaps 50 times during the first year.” But the partners had a unique and winning strategy – a company-building plan that stemmed from their convictions. DeJoria and Mitchell traveled extensively to conduct no-cost product demonstrations for salon owners. They guaranteed salon owners would sell all products purchased; if they didn’t, they could return any unsold products for a full refund. Such practices represented a first for the hair care industry, and eventually led to John Paul Mitchell Systems becoming one of the fastest growing privately-held companies in the United States. Although Paul Mitchell tragically died of pancreatic cancer in 1989, the two partners’ dream has flourished. Today, John Paul Mitchell Systems has annual salon retail sales approaching $900 million. The company currently produces over 90 products (including the brands Paul Mitchell®, Modern Elixirs™, Tea Tree™, Paul Mitchell LAB™, and Paul Mitchell Professional Hair Color). All John Paul Mitchell System hair and skin care products are manufactured within the United States. John Paul Mitchell Systems products are sold through 25 distributors within the United States to approximately 90,000 hair salons and schools. Internationally, John Paul Mitchell Systems works with distributors in 75 countries that supply thousands of hair salons.
A firm commitment to caring for the earth informs every aspect of the company’s policy and strategy. According to John Paul DeJoria, “Corporations can and should change the world for the better. We have the perspective needed to leave the world a better place for our having been there.” John Paul Mitchell Systems does not test its products on animals; the company was also the first professional hair care company to publicize to the media the practice of not testing products on animals, thereby setting a positive example for other corporate entities. John Paul Mitchell Systems products are packaged in recyclable containers. John Paul Mitchell Systems’ aerosol products meet the most stringent Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) standards. John Paul Mitchell Systems harvests botanicals on the company’s solar powered awapuhi farm in Hawaii without harm to the environment and uses organic ingredients. John Paul Mitchell Systems plants trees through the non-profit American Forests to offset all carbon emissions associated with the manufacture and distribution of the Tea Tree brand, and further donates to reforest throughout the country and around the world through the organization’s Global ReLeaf program.
John Paul Mitchell Systems ardently supports a wide variety of philanthropic causes. Recent donations (totaling millions of dollars) of cash, products, and services have been made to non-profit organizations operating in the fields of health care, social services, environmental protection and awareness, and the arts.
John Paul steers the company according to its original vision. Despite hugely lucrative offers from public corporations to purchase John Paul Mitchell Systems, John Paul refuses to sell the company because of the initial vow he took to stand by the professional beauty industry. Since no public corporation can guarantee it will market John Paul Mitchell Products exclusively through salons, for John Paul - selling is simply not an option.
In his capacity as businessman, environmentalist, and philanthropist, John Paul has served on several U.S. government and United Nations missions. For example, John Paul has advised regarding the environmentally-sound harvesting of energy in Africa and other nations, and discussed the development of a demilitarized ecological zone in the context of the reunification of the Koreas with senior level North Korean government officials. John Paul has also donated considerable personal care and money to supporting those who have served in the armed forces, as well as to supporting the families of injured servicemen and the widows and orphans of deceased servicemen. Additionally, John Paul has acted as an advisor to U.S. government agencies (including the U.S. Navy Seals, the Central Intelligence Agency, and Asian Pacific Economic Forum) on issues of management, motivation, and global thinking. John Paul has advised on the environmentally-sound harvesting of energy in Africa. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Creative Coalition and on the Board of Directors for Robert Kennedy’s Waterkeeper Alliance.
WHO IS YOUR HERO?
